Week #7 : Gears part 2

We decided that it would be a good time to revisit gears. We introduced the boys to basic gear concepts such as “Gearing Up”, “Gearing Down”, and “Driver versus Driven Gears”. To understand these concepts, they also learned “Gear Ratios”. Since they have learned fractions at school, they grasped gear ratios quickly. Each member built a simple gear model, switched the Driver and Driven gears in their model and calculated their creation’s gear ratio.

We then went through the process of using each of the Lego gears available to us to build simple gear samples. We built samples using Angle Meshing gears, Flat Gears, Dog Gears and a Rack and Pinion gear.

Next stop - Building a mission attachment that involves gears! That'll be the real test.

Core Values

Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. ... Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process.

“Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM).”

Innovation Project Ideas

Getting the boys to come up with the innovation is proving to be a tough sell. We are trying to help them come up with ideas for their innovation design. Currently we're trying out various “Brainstorming” activities to achieve this.

Missions 02, 09, 11, 12 and 06

It looks like a lot and it may well be too much. The idea is to drive from home to 02 (step counter), go to 09 (treadmill), then 11 (row machine), flip a tire at 12 then come back home through 06 (pull-up bar).

First session Jackson got a good start on 02 and is heading to 09. Andy and Kailash are working on an attachment for 11. What about 12? Is the attachment suitable for being in place for 02 and 09?

We have work to do.