Curriculum
S.T.E.A.MSTEAM is the abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math. It’s an integrated approach to learning that encourages students to think more broadly about real-world problems.
Students at every age should be encouraged to think deeply so that they have the chance to become the innovators, educators, and leaders who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our future. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) inspires students to think more broadly and to solve problems with a hands-on approach. By introducing students to STEAM at a young age, it cultivates progress from project-based learning through collaborative exploration, to problem-based learning which focuses on real-world problems, and ultimately to place-based learning where students learn by doing.
At Robotics4U we apply STEAM in all our projects to encourage students to think outside the box :
Junior Engineers
Our Junior Engineers code their Dash and Dot robots to explain the Butterfly Life Cycle and in the process apply science in their research work, technology for coding their robots and art to design the life cycle chart. These young engineers use the concept of engineering to design a snow plower dash robot and then code it to plow snow in a self designed senior citizen community. This develops the community service skill in the young generation through something they love to do – use technology ! Choreographing their robots to dance moves through programming is another fun STEAM project done by our students.
Apprentice Engineers
Our Apprentice Engineers use the Mindstorms EV3 Robotics kit and everytime they learn a new concept in coding, they then do a project applying STEAM with it. They have made Spirograph machines using EV3 robots which eventually brings out the best artist in them. Students have designed projects wherein they have made a paper shredder using a medium motor in their EV3 robots. In other STEAM based projects, students have been challenged to make robots with an objective to push their creativity to the next level by challenging them to design a unique product – “The Toddle Bot” – a robot that uses NO wheels for locomotion !! Here the students are required to brainstorm to design their robots to walk, crawl, hop, wiggle or slither ! Solving the maze in the least possible time by programming their EV3 robots is another fun based STEAM project that kids love and develop the skill of debugging their code to enhance the speed and direction of their robots in the most exciting way !
Senior Engineers
Our Senior Engineers use the Mindstorm EV3 Robotics kit but their level of programming is of much higher and complex level. For instance, Students are given Challenges to Programs with Touch Sensors like Touch Sensor Parking, Touch Sensor Race and Touch Sensor Roomba. They are assigned projects to design and program a robot that can load and unload as in a manufacturing industry. Another STEAM project involved the application of robotics to solve a real life problem using the concept of gears (engineering) to their EV3 robots and students created a robotic hand that could grip and lift objects. This helped the student to apply the concept of human muscles to their robots just as they have been applying the concept of human senses to their robots using various sensors.
