Middle School, Robotics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 5)

Mars Rover Obstacle Course

STEM Activity

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How do scientists and engineers control robots that drive around other planets millions of miles away? It's nowhere near as easy as driving a toy remote-control car here on Earth. In this activity you will experience some of the challenges you face when driving a "robot" that you can't see! Read more

SeaPerch: An Underwater Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Underwater robots, or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), help us explore areas of the ocean that can be dangerous for humans. They can provide valuable scientific information about deep-sea life and ocean climate. However, you do not need access to the ocean to build and test your own ROV. If you have ever wanted to build your own ROV but were not sure where to start, the SeaPerch platform is a great option. You can purchase a complete kit with all the required parts and follow the detailed… Read more

Take a Hike: Train Your Robot Dog to Walk with a Virtual Leash

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever walked a dog on a leash? Depending on how well-behaved the dog is, it can be very easy or very difficult. It would be great if you could tell your dog exactly how to behave, right? With that in mind, in this project you will build a robotic dog using a LEGO® Mindstorms® kit that you can teach to "walk" using the beam from a flashlight as a virtual leash. But your robot dog will not know how to walk on a leash on its own — you will have to "train" it, just as you… Read more

X Marks the Spot: Build a Robot to Protect Your Treasures

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You have secret treasure that you need to keep safe from thieves. How do you keep guard 24 hours a day without skipping school and the rest of your important activities? You build a guard robot and have it do the hard work! You can build a guard robot using a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® set and the instructions in this project to guide your efforts. And do not worry: your secret is safe with your robot. Read more

Brainstorming for Engineering Projects using SCAMPER

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-8th

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Coming up with new ideas is hard! How do engineers design new things or improve existing ones? Engineers and inventors use different brainstorming techniques to help them think outside the box and come up with new ideas. In this lesson plan, your students will practice brainstorming with a method called SCAMPER. Read more

Bristlebot Shape and Motion Tracking

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Bristlebots are tiny little robots with no "brain." They are powered by vibrations and move around randomly. Even if there is no brain, can you still influence how they move by changing their design? Find out in this fun robotics project! Read more

Build a Color-Detecting Rover

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers use scientific instruments, nicknamed ChemCam (Figure 1) and SuperCam respectively, to help them analyze the composition of rocks and soil on Mars. You can learn more about these cameras from the resources in the Bibliography, and more about why scientists want to analyze rocks on Mars from the video on this page. Figure 1. The two main parts of the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover. For a science… Read more

Build an Arduino Mini-Drone

Lesson Plan Grade: 8th-12th

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In this STEM lesson, students will build a mini popsicle stick drone and use feedback control with an Arduino and an ultrasonic sensor to control the drone's altitude. Read more

DIY Mini Drone: Free Flight

STEM Activity

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Make your mini popsicle stick drone lift off in this activity! You will build a dual-joystick controller to steer your drone so you can fly it manually. How well can you fly without any help from automatic controls? See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

DIY Mini Drone: Motion Control

STEM Activity

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Most modern smartphones and video game controllers have a built-in accelerometer used for motion control. In this project you will program an Arduino® to use an accelerometer to control the steering of a miniature popsicle stick drone. See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

Middle School, Robotics Projects, Lessons, Activities (56 results)

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