Neighbors | Zack Shively.The children, from left, Lily, Anthony and Christina, changed different things on their robot to make it work properly. Part of the objective of the Lego WeDo Robots event is to get the childen to troubleshoot and think critically about what they are doing.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.The children at the Lego WeDo event programmed the machines to move and pull objects. Pictured, librarian Annette Ahrens helped Jack and Logan with making their machine move.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Children placed blocks on the back of their machine to see how many it could pull. Pictured, Landon and Rowan celebrate their successful robot.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.After pulling the blocks, other groups at the Poland library's Lego WeDo Robots event looked through the programming to experiment with what else the robot could do. Pictured are, from left, Moses, Jack and Max all search through the programming to make their machine move in reverse.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Poland library hosted a Lego WeDo Robots event on Oct. 17. The children at the event worked together to make their robots. Pictured are, from left, Max and Jack grabbing pieces that they needed to build their machine.
by ZACK SHIVELY
The Poland library hosted a Lego WeDo Robots event in the large meeting room on Oct. 17.
Samantha Schneider, Early Learning Team Leader for the PLYMC, led the event with assistance from Poland librarian Annette Ahrens. They organized the children into groups. The groups worked in a collaborative effort to create their machines.
The activity had the children build the robots around a motor based on diagrams and program the machines to move. The program worked the students’ critical thinking, problem solving and computational skills.
After getting their robots to move, the children attached a link that connected their machine to a Lego rectangle to carry cargo. The groups placed different blocks on the rectangle to see how many they could carry. They changed elements in their programming to try to make the machines carry more and still move at a fast pace.
Some groups tried to carry all the blocks while others removed their carrying device altogether. One group replaced the tires from the instructions with other tires in the Lego WeDo box, making their machines move faster.
The groups all experimented with what they had. Some programmed their machines to move in other directions other than straight. One group made it so the robot changed directions whenever someone stepped in front of it. Some changed the colors of the light on the robot. Two groups raced each other and then tried to figure out ways they could be faster than the other group.
The library hosts different Lego WeDo programs throughout the branches of the PLYMC. The grade level of the program depends on which program the library offers.