Cargo Connect is the name of the FIRST LEGO League's theme for 2021-- aiming to teach children about how cargo is transported from the manufacturer, sorted correctly and efficiently, and delivered to the correct destination.
The students are challenged to design a robot and complete a robot game that will include missions on a special table. Get the robot to complete a mission. The missions fit into 4 categories: safety, efficiency, access, and connections. They are also challenged to complete an Innovation Project where they will create a solution to a problem in the transportation industry and present that idea to an audience.
We began with the preseason building challenges and built simple machines and attachments to get to know our pieces and what could be accomplished without a hub or motor. Students built one-way curtains, carabiners, gears, gear boxes, rack gears, aligners, scissors, auto-retracting levers, and a simple machine called gravity.
Then we moved into this season's challenge sessions. Each session includes a project spark-- that encourages students to think about safety, efficiency, access, and connections. Students are expected to apply the FLL Core Values during sessions: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun. These are also highlighted in our Engineering Notebooks that we use throughout the session.
Students are creating the builds that go with the Robot Game Missions during our sessions as well as testing out their EV3 Robots and attachments.
In the next few sessions, we will begin the Innovation project. We have been using the STEAM room for these sessions.
It is an exciting time in Idea Lab!
