This presentation is a collection of hands-on projects made by 8th grade middle school students.

1. So what do we do in this class, work with computers? Visual Vocabulary Project Michael Clisura EDST6304 Fall 2009

2. Electric Cars Body and chassis are constructed from corrugated plastic sheet. Electrical circuit consists of D.C. motor, switch and battery/holder. Various propulsion methods are used such as gears, pulley/rubber band and propeller.

3. Water Rocket A plastic bottle with a cardboard nose cone for aerodynamics and fins for stability. The Ping-pong ball acts as a parachute. Water is mixed with pressurized air and concealed in the bottle. The rocket is mounted on a tripod and takes to flight when releasing a clamp.

4. Syringe Bot A mechanical arm with 3 way movement ( up/down, left/right, open/close). Each movement is powered by air or water displacement between to connected syringes. When pushing or pulling the plunger of one syringe, the connected syringe plunger moves in opposition and is attached to a particular joint in the mechanical arm thus creating motion.

5. CAD ProEngineer ProEngineer is CAD (Computer Aided Design) software. It is used to design products, machines, buildings, landscapes or basically anything imaginable. Drawings are saved to a file and can be referenced for editing, e-mailing or printing.

6. Solar Car Body and chassis are constructed from balsa wood sheet. Electrical circuit consists of D.C. motor, switch and solar panel. Various propulsion methods are used such as gears, pulley/rubber band and propeller. Motor is activated when solar panel absorbs enough sunlight.

7. Robot Arms An electromechanical arm with 5 way motion. Each arm is controlled by 2 joysticks, one performs 3 motions, the other 2. Students compete in teams of 2 to determine which one can be the first to drop Ping-pong balls down the plastic pipes in this math learning game.

8. Lego NXT Robots A modular building set for constructing robotic vehicles. What makes these Lego’s unique from other Lego mechanical sets is the NXT module. The NXT module sends motion instructions to as many as 3 motors connected to the robot. The NXT module also has it’s own software for programming motion instructions which are downloaded to the module.

9. Lego Pneumatics A modular building set containing many more moveable parts than traditional Lego’s. Air pressure is used to power cranes, sliding doors, reclining chairs, etc. The pressure is produced from retracting pistons powered by battery and stored in a canister.

10. Technology Class Intended to introduce 8 th graders to what technology is; through readings, videos, discussions, experiments and most of all hands-on projects. It develops a student’s problem solving skills and teaches them to brainstorm with others. A history of inventions where technology’s negative as well as positive effects on society are presented.

11. West New York Middle School Located in West New York, New Jersey. Over 900 7 th & 8 th graders are enrolled.

12. Here are some helpful links to teach you more about these projects. http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/BottleRocket/about.htm - http://www.nxtcentral.com/page/2/ http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Toy_Solar_Cars/Solar_Toy_Cars.htm Water Rocket Lego NXT Robot Solar Car http://wwwrobot.gmc.ulaval.ca/interne/documentation/proeng/ CAD ProEngineer