We have some special guest bloggers this month as Ms. Nelson’s third graders (Longfellow) have agreed to share their thoughts on the Geared Up program with us. Geared Up is an excellent introduction to engineering, using LEGOs. The program was first proposed by Gretchen Junker during our last Call for Ideas. Ms. Junker currently serves as the Program Coordinator, and a VEX Robotics Coach. Stay tuned for more posts from Ms. Nelson’s students, and catch up on those you missed here.
Guest Blogger: Lucas Albrecht
Wheel and Axle System #1
This is the first experiment we tried that worked to reduce friction. Turning the wheels was not as easy as I expected it to be. When I wanted to turn the wheels, I had to do a straight turn which would be bad on a normal road because if I tried to turn it would be very difficult. When one wheel spun, the other wheel did not spin. With the LEGOS, the best way to turn was to lift one wheel, which would be dangerous to do in a real car because there could be a high chance of your car flipping over, which would be super scary.
This is a picture of our first wheel and axle system.
Wheel and Axle System #2
This system is the second one in the reduce friction category. It is not like the other one, in the sense that when I pushed one wheel, the other wheel does the same thing. One of my partners, named James, said that B2 went faster then B1. Besides the difference in speed, the two systems are the same.
Wheel and Axle System #3
This system is the only one that had an actual (LEGO) steering wheel! We were also able to add two extra wheels so it would be more like a real car. This one was the best because it could turn the easiest and had the best balance.
