Thanks for the update on the new Boy Scout robotics merit badge. I forwarded the link to two of the kids involved in ARLISS Team New Hampshire (see the Stamps in Class forum). I'm the ARLISS Project Coordinator, a Boy Scout leader, and merit badge counselor.
I'm glad the Boe-Bot got on the list. When they asked me for ideas on kits the price ceiling was $100, and it struck me how few commercial kits there are in that price range, that are both programmable and can be used to build more than one variation (and, my preference, does not require soldering). My grandson, a Scout, is learning on the same Boe-Bot I've had for over a decade.
I am so glad to hear that the Boe-Bot is an approved scout kit. My neighbor stopped by the other night and said "Hey, your a robotics guy how about helping with the robotic merit badge?" I had no idea where to start and he had no details. No worries now. Just have to recommend the Boe-Bot kits.
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We shuttled the Boe-Bot through their process and it is an approved kit for the merit badge.
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That's great! Now when my kid's friends and neighborhood kids beg me to help them with robotics, I won't necessarily have to learn some totally alien ardorko platform.
Wonderful! I am a board member of a college chapter of IEEE, and twice a year we organize merit badge days where we do various engineering related badges. It's very popular (150+ scouts next Saturday!), and maybe I can get the robotics one added next year. Sounds fun.
We too were happy to see this, as my son (12) joined Scouts last year (best thing EVER, btw...) and I just concluded teaching Boe-Bot to 12 year-old's in a 16 hour condensation of Parallax's ever-so-fine material (many thanks to Jessica for a ton of helpful vids and goodies).
I have a couple comments for those of you teaching young'uns for the first time(s). (I'm a home-school dad, and know exactly how not to teach...).
- Kids really need to be able to grok logic for this, and this comes, generally, when their eye teeth start to grow in, about 12, maybe 13 with some. Boys are often slower readers, and avoid it because of that, so watch your expectations of the little's.
- The idea of a 'lecture' to this age group is laughable, even with Scouts you really need to mix it up. USE LOTS OF COLOR to win their attention; they'll choke on black and white slides.
- You don't need to be Robin Williams, but boys that age have a quick sense of humor, and they don't suffer fools gladly. Seriously. I recommend having some fart-jokes at the ready (even though most troops ban bodily function jokes.)
I took the Parallax book and pulled the essential stuff into a set of slides and programs that I've posted at http://studyrobotics.com
My mission was to take the 40 hour/14-year-old-audience Parallax material and do it in 16 hours for 11-12 year old's. I really tried to focus on what they would take forward in life language-notwithstanding and leave them with some lasting impressions. I think two of my first class kids are tending towards engineering now, so hopefully mission-accomplished there.
As the Robotics Merit badge came out when I was at Lesson 6 already, we crammed all the BSA req's into the last lesson, but we'd covered off most of the essentials already. Notable was my lack of industrial robotic knowledge, being a mere geek and not a god.
I'm going to re-do these materials to fully embody the BSA requirements and put it into a presentation that will suit a two-day camp-with-robotics format, or can be broken out into 8 2-hour sessions.
For those not in scouting who are being drafted to assist a local troop, be aware that scouts' schedules are generally very tight, and this (16 hours) is a big percentage of their available time. There are many competing activities, and these kids have the attention span of a birthday candle, at best. So you'll do well to keep it snappy, mix in structured breaks and changes of venue (teach them the color-code song...sing the resistor color code to the tune of Ode To Joy...it works!)
@DataBoy - Thanks for sharing your experiences! I'm sure it will help a lot of counselors. I took a look at your materials, and they're really great - I love the commentary by Rosie.
We're actually putting together a resources page to help Merit Badge Counselors guide their scouts through the badge requirements. With your OK, we'd love to add a link to your site!
I just sent out a funding request to a local friend to sponsor 25 kits for next term. We're going to hook up with the Jamboree On The Air (amateur radio/scouts) and see if we can remote control some bots from across the country and such. I'll be completely re-doing the slides (I can't use Rosie too much or Hanna Barberra might come gunnin' for me) for the scout program, and will look forward to working with you further next year. Thanks again for all your help this year -- the kids really lit up in lesson 6 when we did the IR-bot and they because autonomous...a half-dozen slack-jawed 12 year-olds quiet and staring is a very unusual thing!
Matt Gilliland
Posts: 1,406
Comments
Matt,
Thanks for the update on the new Boy Scout robotics merit badge. I forwarded the link to two of the kids involved in ARLISS Team New Hampshire (see the Stamps in Class forum). I'm the ARLISS Project Coordinator, a Boy Scout leader, and merit badge counselor.
Yours in Scouting,
Mark Kibler
ARLISS Team New Hampshire
:thumb:
http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?cat=01RTL&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=&C3=SCIENCE&C4=&LV=3&item=612753&prodid=612753^8^01RTL&
We shuttled the Boe-Bot through their process and it is an approved kit for the merit badge.
Ken Gracey
Well done, guys.
That's great! Now when my kid's friends and neighborhood kids beg me to help them with robotics, I won't necessarily have to learn some totally alien ardorko platform.
(sigh...)
Thank you.
I just got back from a school field trip to NASA's Houston Space Center too!
Amanda
We too were happy to see this, as my son (12) joined Scouts last year (best thing EVER, btw...) and I just concluded teaching Boe-Bot to 12 year-old's in a 16 hour condensation of Parallax's ever-so-fine material (many thanks to Jessica for a ton of helpful vids and goodies).
I have a couple comments for those of you teaching young'uns for the first time(s). (I'm a home-school dad, and know exactly how not to teach...).
- Kids really need to be able to grok logic for this, and this comes, generally, when their eye teeth start to grow in, about 12, maybe 13 with some. Boys are often slower readers, and avoid it because of that, so watch your expectations of the little's.
- The idea of a 'lecture' to this age group is laughable, even with Scouts you really need to mix it up. USE LOTS OF COLOR to win their attention; they'll choke on black and white slides.
- You don't need to be Robin Williams, but boys that age have a quick sense of humor, and they don't suffer fools gladly. Seriously. I recommend having some fart-jokes at the ready (even though most troops ban bodily function jokes.)
I took the Parallax book and pulled the essential stuff into a set of slides and programs that I've posted at http://studyrobotics.com
My mission was to take the 40 hour/14-year-old-audience Parallax material and do it in 16 hours for 11-12 year old's. I really tried to focus on what they would take forward in life language-notwithstanding and leave them with some lasting impressions. I think two of my first class kids are tending towards engineering now, so hopefully mission-accomplished there.
As the Robotics Merit badge came out when I was at Lesson 6 already, we crammed all the BSA req's into the last lesson, but we'd covered off most of the essentials already. Notable was my lack of industrial robotic knowledge, being a mere geek and not a god.
I'm going to re-do these materials to fully embody the BSA requirements and put it into a presentation that will suit a two-day camp-with-robotics format, or can be broken out into 8 2-hour sessions.
For those not in scouting who are being drafted to assist a local troop, be aware that scouts' schedules are generally very tight, and this (16 hours) is a big percentage of their available time. There are many competing activities, and these kids have the attention span of a birthday candle, at best. So you'll do well to keep it snappy, mix in structured breaks and changes of venue (teach them the color-code song...sing the resistor color code to the tune of Ode To Joy...it works!)
Best to all...D
We're actually putting together a resources page to help Merit Badge Counselors guide their scouts through the badge requirements. With your OK, we'd love to add a link to your site!
I just sent out a funding request to a local friend to sponsor 25 kits for next term. We're going to hook up with the Jamboree On The Air (amateur radio/scouts) and see if we can remote control some bots from across the country and such. I'll be completely re-doing the slides (I can't use Rosie too much or Hanna Barberra might come gunnin' for me) for the scout program, and will look forward to working with you further next year. Thanks again for all your help this year -- the kids really lit up in lesson 6 when we did the IR-bot and they because autonomous...a half-dozen slack-jawed 12 year-olds quiet and staring is a very unusual thing!
Best...D