Advanced Engineering: Grove Model Complete!

If you've been following this blog, you might recall that the Advanced Engineering class was laying out conceptual designs for a playground structure destined for the Lower Campus. They have been fairly quiet since then, except for announcing a grant that was awarded in October. However, much has gone on in the background: our six students have been learning about stress strain, Hooke's Law, materials science, and cross-section analysis. They also began work on a long-term design report that will be completed by the end of the year.

And then...

Our own Sarah Jane suggested that the group take the advice of local architect Jeff Shelton, and turn out a scale model of our intended structure. It wasn't in Mr. Meadth's original curriculum plans, but it seemed like a good idea!

So they turned to the CAD model.

For any CAD nerds out there, you'll recognize this as having been created in SketchUp, a fully-featured free program commonly used by architects and product designers the world over.

This model was completed jointly by the entire class, with each of the six tackling individual parts and then sending the file to Mr. Meadth for incorporation into the whole.

Some aspects of the model have been since changed, such as standardizing the railing system across the entire model. It's a continual work in progress, as the group shifts from conceptual to detailed design.

After some packs of balsa wood, modelling clay, and other miscellaneous items arrived in the mail, the team set to work making a 1:16 scale model. Caleb became quite proficient with a craft knife.

The four surrounding trees were created in clay, courtesy of Sarah Jane, and Kylie got very good at staining balsa with a foam brush.

Hot glue guns at the ready!

Jake carefully placed his pieces onto the board (helpfully supplied by Tys)...

Much work was done by Aaron and Kylie over the next few weeks, in lieu of their usual teacher assistant job in Foundations of Engineering II, and our Westmont engineering intern, Robert Huff, also lent a hand at the very end. A few 3D-printed black tires and a whole lot of sawdust completed the scene, and the designers gathered to celebrate!

Finally, the completed model was transported to Lower Campus, and descriptive labels were attached so as to describe some of the features to passers-by. Mr. Knoles proudly placed the entire scene with some CAD images right by the front door of the office, and it only took a few moments for a small crowd to gather and start asking questions!

Bottom line: the project is alive and well, and please stop by the Lower Campus to view the completed scene. We have another grant in the works, and already have some parents who have offered to help with donations and construction (commencing in May and continuing through the summer), but please reach out and contact Mr. Knoles (mknoles@providencesb.org) or Mr. Meadth (rmeadth@providencesb.org) if you would like to offer skilled help/resources, or know someone who can.

And don't forget to cheer on our engineering students when you see them!

Robo Puppies

Meet Astro and Cookie--they don't eat much and they won't mess up your house. They will, however, bark and sit and nod their heads, and maybe even roll over!

The star attractions at our table; note the colored "bone" used to give commands

to the two puppies

Last Friday, Astro and Cookie--and their human handlers of course--were invited to come play with the elementary students at El Montecito School, as part of their Techsploration Day. Twelve groups of ELMO students came to visit the robot puppies one by one, and everyone saw just how easy it is to write code and have fun!

Four of our high school engineering students (Jake, Caleb, Tys, and Sarah Jane) guided the El Montecito students through a ten-minute crash course in robot programming. Our students asked the younger ones what they wanted each puppy to do...

Sit up?

Bark?

Nod its head?

Blink its eyes?

Say what color was in front of it?

Roar like a T-Rex?

Jake and Caleb show the younger students how Astro receives his coded instructions

After writing in this command, the students then included some sort of trigger in the code, again asking the younger ones what that trigger should be...

Show the puppy a specific color?

Pat it on the back?

Press the buttons on the front?

Sarah Jane explains the finer points of Cookie's

inner workings

In just a few minutes, the older students were able to write the program described, all shown in full color as it was being done. It downloaded instantly via Bluetooth, and the students could see the outcome. Astro ran on the spot, and Cookie nodded approvingly. Astro sat up when he saw red, and Cookie showed off by naming any of four colors shown to her.

This simple code 1) waits for the color green to be shown to the sensor, 2) plays

the sound file "Dog bark 1", and 3) runs the motor to raise the head

Sarah Jane, Jake, Caleb, Tys, and Mr. Meadth (rear)

Astro and Cookie (front)

Many thanks to Tim Loomer, Colette Crafton, and all the staff at El Montecito for receiving us, and running a highly successful Techsploration Day. The rain couldn't dampen anyone's spirits, and it was a delight to see the meaningful collaboration between the two Christian schools.

Middle School: A Mechanical Advantage

The second semester of the middle school elective, Intro to Engineering, takes on a special theme each year, and is intended for 7th and 8th Graders who are repeating the class. Last year, the theme was space exploration, and the theme was matched with our first annual Science & Engineering Expo, which was a huge success.

This year, the second semester theme is "Machines", with a focus on the simple machine types described by Renaissance scientists. We have looked at the history of modern and pre-modern humanity in this area, wrapped around such figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Archimedes, and Vitruvius (not the LEGO wizard--sorry!). As well as the artistry and ingenuity, we're also studying the idea of the physical concept of work, and how energy is conserved and transmitted in mechanical systems.

One of the simple machines that was studied in antiquity was the pulley--a rope wrapped around a wheel to change the direction of force. The compound pulley is even more interesting, and allows us to dramatically increase our "mechanical advantage". In everyday terms, this means that we can make ourselves stronger. But to talk about it is not enough: you have to prove this kind of thing outside!

Using Mr. Gill's outdoor education equipment and some 400 lb pulleys from Ace Hardware, the students themselves arranged the constituent pieces, hanging from the sturdy structure of the outdoor basketball hoop (not the hoop itself). On the previous day, they had worked with small model version indoors, so they knew how to set things up. It didn't hurt to have some Boy Scouts in the group, too!

Students working out how to set up the equipment

With everything secure and checked, and a safety mat below, the first student was hoisted up into the air.

Julian was our first contestant!

Pedro gets a taste of the air up there

Josh holds on as Pedro slam dunks!

Our particular compound pulley system had two wheels where the hanging student was located. This means that there are four lengths of rope leading away from the load. This gives a mechanical advantage of four, which means that, aside from friction losses, the person pulling is made four times as strong! If a 100 lb student hangs from the pulley, the person pulling only feels 25 lb.

Two wheels at top and two at bottom; the lower pulley moves up with the load,

while the upper pulley stays in a fixed position; note Sam's bowline knot!

Other notable moments possibly occurred as well...

Chloe representing for the girls!

Tommy and Julian being lifted together at once

Mr. Meadth showing a great deal of trust in Sam

Success!

Payback time for Chloe and Belen

More news coming up later this semester, and keep an eye out for this semester's Science & Engineering Expo in April!