24-25 56G STEAM Highlights by Angela Ernstes

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Supplies for student needs...

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The 56G specials department has a list of commonly used items. If you would like to support our classes by donating one or more of the items we would greatly appreciate your support!

Kleenex

Bandaids

Ziplocs (gallon and/or quart size)

Baby Wipes

Everything to know about STEAM Blue ~ Automation and Robotics

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Everything to know about STEAM Maize ~ Computer Science for Innovators and Makers

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Hi! I'm Mrs. Ernstes

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I'm so excited for this year!

First day fun… Cup races

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This is NOT as easy as it looks!

First day fun… Cup races!

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Team work makes the dream work

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We're starting to figure out that when we communicate well, our successes are huge!

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Amazon Wish List for STEAM

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Linked here is a list of wishes for STEAM. Thank you for considering.

Wind powered race car builds are underway.

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Our first build

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Finally! The time is here to open the robotics kits and work on our first build, the simple gear train. This is an incremental build, so we will continue to add to it for the next few days of school. By next week, we will attach a motor and program the gears to move.

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"This is why I love STEAM!" ~Carson

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Finally! The time is here to start programming our micro:bits. We tried three different programs today - flashing hearts, name tag, and smiley buttons.

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Building skills in algorithmic thinking

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Algorithmic thinking is a way of solving problems by creating a step-by-step process, or algorithm, to produce a desired outcome. It's a fundamental skill in computer science and programming, and it's also important for students to learn.

Algorithmic thinking is one of the best ways of breaking down a complex task into smaller, more manageable parts. So what better way to practice this skill than a complex challenge! Blindfolded puzzles!

Blindfolded puzzles

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In the blindfolded puzzles challenge, the partner who can see the puzzle is not allowed to use their hands, while the other partner keeps eyes closed or covered. Pairs have ten minutes to work together to assemble the puzzle. This is not easy - but students came up with some excellent ideas for breaking this task into more manageable chunks. I’m so proud of them!

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5th grade STEAM - wind powered cars are a success!

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Check out the tournament final from Mrs. Standish’s class

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Winners from Burmeister’s class!

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Winners from Wysocki’s class!

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Sign up through the Community Education office. Please call community ed if you have any questions about the informational meeting or the two night try-it-out sessions.

Contact Community Ed (616) 669-1740 for more information, or go to the Community Ed website to register.

https://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/communityed/index

Micro:bit game day!

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Today students learned how to use the input devices built into the micro:bit to play games.

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Rock paper scissors tournament

JR Automation visits 56G

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Engineers Nicki and Jeremy visited 56G today to provide a virtual tour for fifth grade students. It was so cool to see units of 50 and 100 robots working together inside a facilities the size of a football field. We also learned that JR Automation designed some robots for Universal Studios.

Huge thanks to JR Automation for the experience (and some swag)!!

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MFP Automation visits 56G

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Luke B (shown here) won 56G’s SOAR drawing and got a chance to control the robot today. He shared “At that moment it sparked a little bit of creativity in me. I think that when I grow up I want to be an engineer.”

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MFP Automation visits 56G

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After speaking to fifth grade students, Mr. Tyler hung around for a little while and showed some of his programming skills off to the STEAM Maize classes. Thanks, Mr. Tyler!

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GT Top Motors Challenge - Progress pics!

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...we're just over here building some race cars... 😏 😏 😏 😏 😏

Teams are challenged to build the fastest race car. It must travel 14m and stop at the finish line. Each team had to decide which mechanism and what size gears would be the best combination. More pictures below!

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Secrets and Safes

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Secrets and Safes - students were challenged to invent a new security system designed to protect a valuable item. Using micro:bits, they programmed an input sensor that would trigger lights, sounds, and motors to act as an alarm system.

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How can we build a robot that can combat pollution in Michigan?

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Fifth graders are working hard on the prototypes of a robots they would invent to clean up pollution. We have some very passionate young people, and I am amazed by them daily. Each class used a dot vote protocol to determine the most important environments which needed robotic solutions, and formed teams based on their areas of interest.

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Second Quarter STEAM Maize team building

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Quarter 2 STEAM Blue!

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Our first build is underway. To start off, students learn how to assemble a simple gear with stability so that everything they build after that will work well. We will add to this build incrementally until we accomplish the first automated mechanism - a gear train.

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Making progress on our pollution-fighting robots

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Micro:bit Scavenger Hunt

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We programmed our micro:bits as a compass and went on a scavenger hunt.

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Input Games

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Our first board game is complete - a student made version of the old arcade game Whack-a-Mole!

Q2 Dragsters!

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We had some really awesome (and fast) designs this quarter!

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Q3 Team Building

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Q3 Team Building

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Final pitches begin this week!!

angelaernstes1 — 2025-01-28 02:56:27 UTC

Our 56G students have engineered and programmed some amazing prototypes. They’ve finished writing their speeches. Each team is ready to convince the sharks that their design is the best possible solution to fight pollution!

Preparing the pitch!

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Pitchouts have begun…

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And they are amazing. After each pitch, our audience spends time rating the prototype using the NUF test - determining if the design is NEW, USEFUL, and FEASIBLE. One design from each class will be selected as winner using the scores from our rubrics.

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Over the wall team building challenge

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Over the wall team building challenge

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And we have a winner!!

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Finalists are being selected this week in the EnviroBots design challenge!

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Students used peer to peer “NUF test”evaluations to help select the top design from each class. Check in here for video updates .

And the winners are...

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After completing the engineering design process, and using a peer to peer review protocol that helped nominate the top contenders, 13 teams competed for the honor of best design.

Our guest judges—engineers from JR Automation and MFP Automation—have selected the top designs! These teams IMPRESSED everyone with their creativity, problem-solving, and engineering skills:

Earning 13.5 of 16 points - from Mrs. Willmore’s class -Sand Surfer! engineered by Carter A, Kendall, April, and Finn

Earning 14 of 16 points - from Mrs. Standish’s class -The Clean Machine created by Lenox, Aviya, Marisa, Brayden, and Reese

Earning 14.5 of 16 points - from Mrs. Wysocki’s class -The Giraffe Bot designed by Mel, Elanor, Deng and Liam!!!

A huge thank you to all participants and to our incredible judges for sharing their expertise and advice along the way. Fifth graders, keep innovating! We can’t wait to see what you create next! At 56G, we build robots…what’s your superpower? #RoboticsCompetition #STEAMat56G #FutureEngineers

We had a fantastic time at the Museum and Planetarium.

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Thank you PTC!

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Q3 Input Games

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Students are challenged to re-invent a favorite board game and use the micro:bit to spice it up! We had some very creative design solutions this quarter.

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Phases of the Moon

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Students created models to visualize the revolution of the moon as it moves around the earth, creating the visible phases of the moon.

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Modeling the movement of the Earth and the predictable patterns of day and night, as well as the seasons.

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Mapping the Movement Constellations in the Night Sky

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