These sessions focused on specific challenges that will be faced by living on the Moon.
Session 4: Water on the Moon
The team tackled questions of finding ice then melting, transporting, filtering, storing, and using the water. Lots of ideas came forward and the team members were able to build their prototypes.
Crush, melt, scan, and pipeline to personal water storage.Vehicular transport of melted ice (I LOVE the colors).
Storage, transport, and filtration machines.
High-speed distillation during high-speed transport.
Then the team built and programmed two different machines using the Lego WeDo 2.0 system.
“Sweep”Modified build to automatically unload cargo from shuttle.
Watching them work together, exchange ideas, take turns, and have fun while bringing their creations to life is the most rewarding part of any session for me.
Session 5: Energy on the Moon
How will we get energy for our Moon Base? How will we store it? Use it?
The team had to work hard on their ideas and came up with some great builds.
Guest Coach Sadie brought her own fuel.
The team then built and programmed “Grab.” With each session the builds become more challenging and the team has to advance their assembling and coding skills.
“Grab”“Grab” modified into a crunching machine. In lieu of Moon ice, a minifigure is crushed.
This week we’ll be taking on more challenges involving life on the Moon and I look forward to sharing our solutions.
We are fully addicted Lego Maniacs now and that mania was born at Hockessin Library‘s Lego Club. It runs every Tuesday in September, 4:30-5:30 pm. This where I got to see my sons explore piles of bricks and build whatever came to mind. We still visit occasionally and I love watching the children build together, many of them winding down from a busy school day. It’s also gratifying to watch parents and caregivers assisting and, sometimes, building on their own.
Friday, September 7th, 10:30 – 11:15 am, Brandywine Hundred Library‘s Lego Storytime will focus on early childhood literacy and problem solving skills. My sons love to recreate and extend stories with their bricks.
Saturdays, September 8th and 22nd, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, South Coastal Library‘s Lego Club is for children 6 to 11 and requires preregistration by stopping by or calling the library at 302-539-5231.
Mondays, September 10th, 17th, and 24th, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Brandywine Hundred Library‘s Lego Club is the place to be. Miss Katherine provides themes each week, but free building is encouraged for all ages. This program is dear to us as it was born out of local efforts by home educators working with this great library.
Wednesdays, September 12th and 26th, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, Claymont Library hosts their Lego Club for ages 4 and up.
Wednesday, September 12th, and Friday, September 28th, 6:30 -8:00 pm, feature a monthly building project at Newark Free Library‘s Library Lego Land Club for ages 5 to 10.
Saturday, September 15th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, Bear Library‘s Lego Club is directed at children ages 6 to 12. And Delaware City Library‘s Lego Club will have themed building for a similar age range, 2:00 – 3:00 pm.
Monday, September 17th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Bear Library‘s Lego WeDo Robotics Club just went on my personal calendar. I’m coaching a FIRST Lego League Jr. team this season and I’m looking to learn more about WeDo, an introductory build-and-program system. Registration required at the Kids desk or call (302) 838-3300.
Tuesday, September 18th, 6:30 – 7:30 pm, Appoquinimink Community Library‘s Lego Club requests registration through this link for ages 5-11. There will be construction challenges and free building.
Wowzers. Lego is expensive and none of these programs will cost you a dime. If your local library doesn’t have a Lego program, just ask. Many of them have a bin of bricks that aren’t being utilized. Maybe even step up and volunteer to host one yourself. You’ll be amazed at what children create.
