Potential vs. Kinetic energy. We all learn this in school, but I had not actually used the terms together in 35 years. My son came home from school one day (eighth grade) with a project – build a marble track that demonstrated potential and kinetic energy.
Potential is when a ball is just sitting at the top of the hill – waiting to roll down as it were. Kinetic is when it starts moving and stays kinetic until it comes to rest. We want to show this. We also want to show how it looses energy over time (the three decreasing hills).
Requirements – it shall be minimum 2 meters long, it shall have one loop and it shall have 3 humps of decreasing size. If you are going to pursue a career as a business analyst or another roll where you gather requirements, be sure you learn the distinctions between ‘shall’, ‘will’ and ‘must’. Essentially, shall means ‘no exceptions’. Don’t do a ‘shall’, then you missed a requirement.
The BIG test. Liam and me testing the track.
So we discussed how we should do it, the size (we needed to transport it to his class) and materials we might use. We looked around the garage at what was handy. Ton of wood! Hot glue gun with Super Strong glue (the most underrated tool for the creative type personality). Plenty to nails, screws, power tools, etc.
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Did you ever want to dress up in period clothing, go to a fun old town (where you were coincidentally born) and walk in a parade? I know! Me too. It was so fun. So my son and friend Kate went to Dickens on the Strand in Galveston. This is an annual festival in December (get it, Dickens, as in Charles Dickens, you know, Scrooge and all that…). It was canceled right after hurricane Ike in 2008, but resumed there after.
Kate, being very industrious and craft oriented, made her own dress. I know. It is great! She also taught me the art of thrift store shopping and we put together my son’s cool chimney sweep outfit the night before we left. My uniform was borrowed from the guy in the picture, my oldest friend, Tim Godfrey. Tim has been a Civil War reenactor for many years now and has a pretty good collection of clothing. Tim loaned me the Union Cavalry Officers uniform. Fit great. I want one.
This was fun time. The crowds were large, people were spending money and the economy of Galveston is rebounding after hurricane Ike.
Me and Tim, Dickens on the Strand, Galveston, Texas 2010
I needed a bookshelf (well, I need several, but this is a start). This was built primarily from (sides, shelves) 1″x12″ and (front stiles) 1″x4″ #2 white pine. The back is made from cedar fence pickets. More to come…
The competition was a blast. I love to see the wide variety of designs and hearing how each team arrived at their design choices. Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
The SC BEST Robotics Competition is here again. It will take place at Waltrip High School on October 30th. Last year was fun and exciting and the students built some wonderfully innovative, functional robots. It is always amazing to me to see how, using similar engineering principles, such different results can be derived.
SC BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) is a program geared toward teaching kids through an atmosphere of open innovation, cooperation, hands-on skills, and free exchange ideas (in my words) .
This year I have the job of working with and coordinating the team of outstanding volunteer judges who will choose the best (BEST) Engineering Workbooks. These workbooks, created solely by the students, detail the processes they used in creating their robots. We will be performing the judging on October 23rd, 2010 at Clearbrook High School in Friendswood, Texas.
Here are some of the files (PDF) used in judging a BEST event:
