The Doctor is Coming...

The Doctor is Coming...

 

We knew we needed to come up with a skit for our presentation.  To make it fun we decided none other than A Dr. Who theme will do, since Dr. Who is a senior too.  

One of our kids, Ethan had been playing around with stop animation videos.  We used this app

to create the video.

Stop Motion Studio App

                                                                

The skit was about Dr. Who coming to help another senior, who was a Weeping Angel,  with his arthritis.  We had a lot of fun creating it.  

Next we created our team spirit hats.

Each kid created there own hat from a pattern.  Then they decorated it.  Pretty good, huh?

Next we all drew pictures to vote on for the t-shirt.  This is the one we chose drawn by Lydia...

On the back we put this picture...

Here is what the shirts looked like...

We also made Sonic Screwdrivers.  

In our video Dr. Who cured the Weeping Angel with a Sonic Screwdriver.

After that we visited Maker's Local 256.  We had a personal tour.  

Here is some of the photos we took while there.

We got to meet our favorite Robot.  We learned what went on in the shop.  

We finished our NXT Robot with the inspiration of going to see a real one.

And did test runs of the missions.  

I was real impressed with how Douglas learned how to use the color sensors on the NXT to figure out how to differentiate between the different colored medicine bottles.  

Caleb worked on the solution project with his Grandfather.  We each had a role.

His project helped seniors lift up their legs so they would not have to bend over so far.

Meanwhile, we decided that with the help of Jennifer Paulsen from Makers Local 256 we should practice doing a skit in front of the judges and use the video presentation at our table.  

Next, we went to a assisted living home where we demonstrated our missions and project.  

Caleb had been working on the project.  The senior citizens gave us some valuable input.  

We worked on the Tri-Fold and included this picture...

Here is how it turned out...

The Tardis in the picture spun around with a motor.

Zachary and Ethan's Grandmother come talk to us about Arthritis.  A Professor visited our group to talk about the cognitive effects of aging.  Last but not least Laura Parks from Task came out and did a demonstration on assistive technology and what seniors might need.  She had some interesting gadgets.  We put a few of the examples on our table by our tri-fold.

Some highlights we unfortunately did not get a picture of was when Michael bowled a strike the first time when attempting the bowling mission.  

Michael also helped Challenger Middle's Team by bringing his mission board and missions to them when theirs had not yet arrived.  He also helped them brainstorm some solutions.

We learned that you should always read the instructions when putting together the mission board.  We could not figure out why we didn't have enough dual-lock pieces.  It finally dawned on us.

and last but not least...

I have a tendency not to do this as a coach. 

The Table

Okay, I said I would post about how I made a portable FLL table.  Before I do, let me tell you how I came up with the idea.

Problem:  I needed a portable table that would fit in a Mini-Cooper.  I have to transport the table back and forth once a week (loading and unloading) to where our FLL team meets.

Research: I looked online at tables some others teams had built (styro-foam borders and board), but nothing seemed practical for what I needed.  They looked like they would get broken too easy and were quite expensive.  I got to brainstorming.

Solution:  Here is what I came up with for the off season.  After the fact I had built this, I saw another team had used some foam mats with wooden borders.  That would have made life a little bit easier if I had found those instructions previously than figuring it out on my own.  I always have to do everything the hard way.

All you need to do is put it together and put a mat on top and you are good to go.  The mat featured here was from the Power Puzzles season.  It was given to us by the local middle school.  What I liked about it was the puzzle pieces.  You usually associate puzzle pieces with Autism, so it was perfect.  Asperger's Syndrome is on the Autism Spectrum.

 As you can see we do not have the Lego Pieces for the mat.  We kind of created our own missions which were very basic.  We did one mission per kid to give them a sense of accomplishment.

Here is how I made it.

What you need:

Play mats from Sam's Club.
Foam pipe insulators from Home Depot or Lowe's 
Edge already on mat

Cost around $30 total

First you need to put 8 squares together with the side pieces attached laying flat.  Then you flip it over to the grey side.  Number each piece and draw a diagram on grey side for kids to be able to put together themselves. 

I also labeled the side foam pieces so they would know how to put them on the foam table.  They were labeled B for Bottom, S for Side.  I had to distinguish which side they were , left or right.  So "BL" would go on the bottom left side, and "2S" would be on the second mat, side piece.  It took the kids a few times to master it.  Labeling is very important because you want to put it together the same way every time.  If the kids ask why something doesn't line up I will ask them if they followed the diagram.

Then you flip all the side pieces of the foam table so they are perpendicular.  Here is what I mean...

Here is another example looking from another direction. I made sure I locked the edge by pushing it in as shown in the bottom picture.

After that, you cut the foam inserts to the size of each individual square.  At first I left the pieces long on the sides, but It was a pain to carry.  To get them to fit in a bag I ended up making them the same size as the foam side pieces.

Then after I had turned all the sides up, I put the foam insulators over the side pieces.  You can wrap them to fit over the whole side piece or you can just lay them on top of the side piece.

The foam insulators go around the whole outside edge.  This will keep your robot within the confines of the table.  You can set this up on a table with legs or on the floor.

After I put the foam insulators on, I laid down the Puzzle Power mat and put Velcro between the mat and the foam table.  If you don't put the table squares together the same way the Velcro won't line up. 

Here is the finished table before adding the Power Puzzle mat!

another picture...

There you go...a portable table that doesn't weigh much and can be transported in a Mini-Cooper.  I do not know how this would work in a Smart car.

My regular season mat has the wooden boards assembled together with corner brackets and straight metal pieces for the middle sides.  I also used an extra piece of wood to stabilize the middle sections.

I drew a diagram on the foam table to let the kids know how to put together the wooden boards.  Each side and middle has a baggie full of wing-nuts and screws labeled.  The corner brackets are labeled too.

This can also be transported in my Mini-Cooper.  The only problem since I added the boards is, I can't fit my kid in the car.  Oh well, you can't have everything! :)