Lippman Second Graders Program Pulleys, Belts, and Levers with LEGO WeDo Robotics


This morning in the AT&T Classroom the Lippman second graders focused on more complex projects that incorporated elements of the LEGO WeDo kit that add movement and sound to the projects such as the LEGO USB Hub, motor, tilt sensor, and motion sensor. Project models include the Dancing Bird Project, the Smart Spinner, and Dancing Monkey.  The students started with the Dancing Birds project that is designed to give children experiences with pulleys and belts.  Using the drag-and-drop software, the students were able to build and program two mechanical birds that had a tweet sound activated when tilted and were motorized to dance using a pulley and belt drive system.  The Smart Spinner and Dancing Monkey projects are part of the LEGO WeDo Robotics system’s Amazing Mechanisms theme which is designed to give young builders experience with levers, cams, and patterns of movement. In Smart Spinner, children investigate the effect of smaller and larger gears on a spinning top. In Drumming Monkey, students learn about levers, cams, and patterns of movement. Builders experiment with the number and position of cams, using them as the effort causing the monkey’s arms to drum up and down on the drum surface at different rates.