If any of you are familiar or have participated in this challenge, you know how amazing an opportunity it is and how challenging it is. NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge - NASA
NASA opened it up to include middle school students this year with a new remote control division. It originally was only high school and college teams building human powered rovers. My students submitted a proposal which was accepted. NASA only took two middle schools into the competition. We, Saint Mary's Catholic School in Richmond, Virginia is the only middle school representing the United States. (Or as my students put it, this whole hemisphere, as the other school is in Germany.)
It has been quite the adventure, both for the kids and for me as well. We have been working on the ultimate engineering design challenge. The students are schooled in using the design cycle from my IB Design class, but they have really experienced more testing and failure then they are used to. They have crashed, broken, smashed, snapped, have things come undone, and wheels fly off. But have learned from all of it. They have grown a lot and really see the difficulty of designing and building something to actually work and do what you intended it to do. Young engineers learning.
They are learning practical skills like how to use a drill, saw, soldering gun and measuring devises. (Oh my, give a kid a ruler and ask them to measure something...) They have learned some more advanced coding and 3D print design . They can work a remote control. They can set-up and program a remote. They have worked on their presentation skills, marketing, finance, and everything else a middle school student doesn't have much experience with. I have many more gray hairs!
This has been very challenging for these kids, but they are getting through it. We have a working rover with a robotic arm and a vacuum system they designed for sample collection. Our HERC team will be off to Huntsville in a few weeks to go head to head on the obstacle course hoping to show up a high school and maybe a college team or two. Wish us luch and we would love your support.
Thanks,
Peter Tlusty
Mr. T
Technology and Engineering Design Teacher
St. Mary's Catholic School
Richmond, Virginia
"HERC is fun and has allowed me to learn so many things I don't think I would have learned otherwise." (Eleri, 7th grade)
"HERC gives me the chance to become something great." (Ana, 7th grade)
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[Peter] [Tlusty]
[Prek- 8th grade Technology Teacher]
[NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador]
[Henrico] [Virginia]
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