Over this half term, some Year One children have been taking part in a STEM club, specifically using Lego. Each week the children have learnt about a different STEM career, with linking attributes and putting their skills into practise.
First the children found out about civil engineers and mechanical engineers. The children were very excited to complete their own engineering job! Each pupil made a simple Lego maze and tested it out to see if they could move their marble around it, starting at the entrance and ending at the exit. Once they had completed the mazes, they had a go at completing each others’ mazes. To make it more challenging, the pupils added obstacles and used Lego pieces to build different levels.
Next the children studied robotic technicians. They learnt that robot technicians make and program robots to complete a variety of tasks. The children then designed and made their own Lego robots. After this, the children created their own mazes for the robots to move around. Finally, the children used arrows to create their own algorithms to make their robot move around the maze. They focused on forwards, backwards, right turns and left turns.
Finally Year One used an online app called Bits and Bricks to program a Lego robot. They had to select the correct programming blocks to enable their robot to complete a variety of mazes, and avoid some very tricky obstacles. If they wrote their code incorrectly the children debugged their program by deleting programming blocks and replacing them with the correct one. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their time at Lego club!
Article 31 – We all have the right to rest, relax and play.
