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Build Solar Robots

JESSICA LOGAN / BRANCH MANAGER

Hamilton Mill Branch, Gwinnett County Public Library

Type of Library Best Suited for: Any

Cost Estimate: $25 per group of 2–4

Makerspace Necessary? No

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Desiring to host a program that challenges youth to learn about the benefits and uses of solar energy, the Gwinnett County Public Library purchased several “14 in 1” Educational Solar Robot kits from OWI Robots (owirobot.com) to be shared among the system’s fifteen branches. With renewable energy playing such a pivotal role in sustainability, now is the perfect time to start children on the path to learning the basic concepts behind these technologies. The OWI Robots kits were evaluated by the Gwinnett County Public Library and were determined to be both an educational and fun method for youth to learn about alternative energy concepts.

The Solar Robot program is a stand-alone event that can easily be held at any time during the year and is designed for middle school and high school students. Given the nature of solar energy, you may wish to have an alternate project available should the weather not cooperate on the date of your program. The kits allow for fourteen different configurations, so it is possible to reuse the kits repeatedly with several different outcomes. The pieces can be quite small, so we find that the assembly of the robots does not work well as an activity for participants younger than middle school, without the assistance of parents.

OVERVIEW

Solar Robots is a program that works well with teens and tweens, ages 12–18. We find that this age range should be strictly adhered to because the fourteen different configurations provided in the kit vary in difficulty and some of the pieces can be quite small. Most participants work in small groups for assembly and are generally able to complete this process in 30–45 minutes. Plan to start your participants off by initiating a group discussion about solar energy. Distribute the OWI Robot kits and allow the participants to form groups for assembling the kits. Many of our students tend to form sibling groups or pair with friends; we also have had groups form over a shared interest in the assembly of a particular robot configuration. We find that groups of 2–4 individuals are ideal.

FIGURE 39.1

Solar robot kit

Allow participants time to work together to assemble their robots based on the instructions provided in the kits. You will want to remain available for those who may have questions or need assistance during the project. Once the groups begin to finish putting their robots together, allow them to go outside and test whether or not they have assembled all the components correctly. If there is enough sunlight available and the robot has been assembled properly, it will begin to move almost immediately.

MATERIALS LIST

NECESSARY EQUIPMENT

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Prior to the start of the event, make sure to open each kit and remove the individual pieces from the plastic framing. This step is essential because many of the pieces will have extraneous sharp, plastic bits left behind from the removal of the framing. These plastic pieces will need to be filed down prior to use by the students—both for safety and proper assembly of the robots. This process can be tedious, time-consuming, and requires those handling the kits to keep all the pieces organized and separated by kit. That being said, we have found this step to be important prior to first use and essential to the success of your Solar Robot programs. Once the kits have been prepped for use, they can be assembled and disassembled repeatedly to allow for experimentation with various configurations and usage at various locations.

Begin the program with a discussion on solar energy, including its environmental benefits and applications. For example, you may wish to explain that solar power converts energy from the sun into electricity or heat. Because of this, it can replace facilities powered by oil, coal, and other nonrenewable fuels. Solar panels which are used to capture the energy in sunlight are becoming an increasingly common sight. Encourage the students to share places where they have noticed solar panels in action, including on rooftops, in calculators, and . . . robots, of course!

Once the participants have had an opportunity to read over the instructions and ask any related questions, distribute the OWI 14-in-1 Robot Kits—one per group. Together each group must decide which configuration they would like to attempt for the program.

As each group starts completing the assembly of its robot, invite them to take it outside into the sunlight to determine whether or not they have completed the process correctly. If there is enough sunlight available and the robot has been assembled properly, it will begin to come alive almost immediately. While the OWI Kit states that indoor halogen lighting will activate the robots, we have found that only bright sunlight really does the trick.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through this project, participants will . . .

RECOMMENDED NEXT PROJECTS

The OWI 14-in-1 Solar Robot Kits have been a hit throughout the Gwinnett County Public Library system for several years. In an effort to expand our program offerings related to solar energy, we have also explored the construction of solar ovens. This is a logical next step since the participants are able to build an oven of their own design rather than following the set instructions provided in a kit. DIY Solar Ovens are also a hit program with children because they tend to involve food, obviously. S’mores are our go-to solar oven treat and the children inevitably go wild with excitement when they learn what we will be using the ovens for.

Another program that we recommend as a next project is something we call STEM Academy: LEGO Cityscape. This takes the idea of city planning and engineering and combines it with LEGOs . . . an instant hit, as you can imagine. This program is quite involved and is held over a period of several days. We ask participants to register ahead of time and commit to attending all days of the program because it is a cumulative learning experience. The participants work as a group to design a city from scratch, including all essential buildings, streets, and services. In building upon what our students learn about solar energy from other library programs, we encourage the STEM Academy participants to consider energy resources when making decisions about the layout of their city. More advanced groups of participants may also include programming using basic computers such as Raspberry Pi and/or Arduino for functions such as street lights and electricity needs for their LEGO city.