Solar Car Challenge: Redesigning Your Solution & Results of the Design Process Activity
Students will play around with the solar car kits to familiarize themselves with the materials in preparation for the solar car engineering challenge.
Solar Car Engineering Challenge Unit
Students will build a solar car using instructions provided (Sol Run). They will take measurements of their car and then test to see how fast it can travel a 3m track. After students obtain their initial results they will research how to improve the car’s...
Solar SPRK+ Unit Overview
This unit incorporates basic programming knowledge and solar energy into an engineering design challenge using Sphero SPRK+ robots. The theme for this challenge centers on the idea of Mars rovers, and the challenges faced in space exploration, specifically...
Introduction to Drag and Drop Coding Using Scratch
Students go through a series of exercises and projects/challenges to gain familiarity with coding, specifically with drag-and-drop coding. Students will look at Scratch, a free introductory computer programming language, which focuses on creative computing...
Solar SPRK+: Sphero Edu Coding
After working on a few Scratch drag and drop programs, participants will transition to Sphero Edu, a comparable drag and drop program for Lesson 2 to prepare to program a Sphero SPRK+ ball to navigate through a maze.
Solar SPRK: Mars Exploration Debate
Students will research and then debate about the value of Mars exploration through robotic and/or human missions using a debate structure.
Solar SPRK+ Electricity Fundamentals and Photovoltaics
Students work through a number of solar circuit explorations that culminate in a challenge to charge the Sphero SPRK+ devices with solar panels. In this exploration, students will investigate the requirements of various loads, working toward the voltage...
Solar SPRK+: Chariot Engineering Design
Students will work through the engineering design process to build a chariot for their SPRK+ that will carry their solar panels through a maze to a charging station. Students will draft prototypes, test their designs, and make changes to their design based...
Solar SPRK+: Final Challenge and Presentation
In this lesson, students will navigate through a maze using their SPRK+ in order to reach the solar charging station. Students will redesign their chariot in order to meet the needs of this new maze in order to carry their solar panels to the charging...
Variables Affecting Wind Turbine Power
Now that students are familiar with how mechanical electricity generation works, they will build a wind turbine powered by a box fan. Different teams will test different turbine variables to see how the amount of electrical power is affected. After each...