Mentoring: a pathway to successOverview:
The Stem Fair was a resounding success in instilling a passion for STEM among students in the Lennox Community. Thanks to the tireless efforts of GBLA, Robotics, and MESA members, not only were students taught on the day of the fair, but they were also engaged and guided in their competitions weeks before. The volunteers went above and beyond by visiting all six participating schools, namely Lennox Middle School, Dolores Huerta Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Moffett Elementary School, Buford Elementary School, and Felton Elementary School, where they mentored and prepared every team personally, leaving a memorable impression on the students. The 4-week mentoring experience enabled students to take charge of their competition submissions, ask thought-provoking questions, and gain firsthand knowledge of STEM. Moreover, it fostered strong bonds between the mentors and their students. Mentoring: What was it like? As part of the STEM Fair mentoring experience, members of GBLA, Robotics, and MESA visited assigned elementary or middle schools once a week for an hour after school. Some mentors demonstrated incredible dedication by traveling to various schools every week for longer periods, adding to their academic and personal responsibilities to assist in making a lasting impact on kids about STEM. Robotics Competition: For the Robotics Competition, the first week of the mentoring experience involved mentors visiting their schools to introduce the VEX program, teaching them how to search for the online building instructions, and how or where to utilize each robotic component. Afterward, students began constructing the first steps of their robots with their mentors, until they got the hang of it and continued on their own. In the second week, teams finished building their robots if they didn't the week prior. Additionally, mentors started teaching teams how to attach the robot brain, connect the controller, and how to run the robot. Throughout the third week, after completing their robots, teams were instructed to. Lastly, during the fourth and final week, mentors and teams began practicing memorizing and building the patterns, timing themselves, and trying to become quicker with each trial. brainstorm ways to improve or modify their builds. Solar Car Competition: The mentoring experience for the Solar Car Competition consisted of mentors visiting their schools to aid students in planning, blue-printing, constructing, testing, and finalizing their solar-powered vehicles for the day of the Stem Fair. To begin, the first week of the solar car competition included introductions to one another and the exciting competition requirements. In addition, teams began brainstorming ideas for basic builds for their cars and themes they wanted to showcase. In the second week, teams would take their visions and display them on isometric paper as front sketches and ISO sketches to assist in making the building phase easier later on. Once teams were finished sketching and planning, they would begin the construction stage. Using materials such as a foam block, alligator clips, cardboard, a motor, wheels, and more, students devised their vehicle submissions. During the third and fourth weeks, the teams worked on completing the construction, testing, and finalization of their solar cars to ensure they were ready for the competition. The last thing groups needed to do was design a colorful and eye-catching flag that best represented their team! Bridge Competition: During the Bridge Competition, the mentors provided their teams with a complete overview of the available materials in the first week. This enabled the students to understand the resources available to them to construct a sturdy and unique bridge. Following this, the students utilized their creativity and brainstormed ideas, sketching their bridge designs on isometric paper. Additionally, the bridge-building software was introduced to the students, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the mechanics. In the second week, the bridge teams took advantage of software to transform their sketches into reality, allowing them to identify any weak points in their designs and enhance them accordingly. During the second and third weeks, students created yet another isometric sketch, complete with accurate measurements, after designing and modifying their bridge build in the software. Finally, during the third and fourth weeks, students brought their designs to life by constructing their bridges using wood sticks and glue, finalizing any final details for the competition. |
Click here for videos filmed during mentoring sessions! |
Mentor and Mentee Statements
Vex Competition
Overview:
Four weeks prior to the start of the STEM fair, GBLA members and students from the engineering department signed up for weekly visits to all of the elementary schools in the Lennox School District as well as Lennox Middle School. During these visits, GBLA members and students helped asist the children in building a functional clawbot robot using the VEX IQ Kit and helped them prepare for the competition. On the day of the competition, we had students representing six different schools, which were Lennox Middle School, Dolores Huerta Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Moffett Elementary School, Buford Elementary School, and Felton Elementary School. These six different schools were placed into a double elimination bracket where they would compete head to head against the other schools until there was only one victor.
Rules:
During the competition, the students were shown a 3x3 pattern made up of three different colors for 15 seconds. After that, the students raced against the other school to create the pattern that was shown using colored blocks spread around an arena. The pattern was only shown once to students, unless they agreed to receive a 10 second penalty. Furthermore, the students on each team had to swap control of the robot to another team member after placing one block. The team who created the pattern most accurately and the fastest would advance to the next round.
Results:
Ultimately, after competing in nine rounds, Jefferson Elementary School would take 1st place, Moffett Elementary won 2nd place, and Buford Elementary won 3rd place.
Four weeks prior to the start of the STEM fair, GBLA members and students from the engineering department signed up for weekly visits to all of the elementary schools in the Lennox School District as well as Lennox Middle School. During these visits, GBLA members and students helped asist the children in building a functional clawbot robot using the VEX IQ Kit and helped them prepare for the competition. On the day of the competition, we had students representing six different schools, which were Lennox Middle School, Dolores Huerta Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Moffett Elementary School, Buford Elementary School, and Felton Elementary School. These six different schools were placed into a double elimination bracket where they would compete head to head against the other schools until there was only one victor.
Rules:
During the competition, the students were shown a 3x3 pattern made up of three different colors for 15 seconds. After that, the students raced against the other school to create the pattern that was shown using colored blocks spread around an arena. The pattern was only shown once to students, unless they agreed to receive a 10 second penalty. Furthermore, the students on each team had to swap control of the robot to another team member after placing one block. The team who created the pattern most accurately and the fastest would advance to the next round.
Results:
Ultimately, after competing in nine rounds, Jefferson Elementary School would take 1st place, Moffett Elementary won 2nd place, and Buford Elementary won 3rd place.
Bridge Competition
A main event that was used to introduce younger minds to the world of STEM and give an insight into future potential careers. The bridge competition was for students to get a deeper understanding of creating different solutions to a set of rules and bringing their ideas to life. The bridge competition was set to be judged on a technical level with an equation of the weight held by the weight of the bride.
Materials for the Project:
Steps to complete the bridge competition:
The day of the competition overview:
To kick off the competition we sorted all the bridges that took part in the competition and reviewed them if they met the criteria for the bridge.
Setup:
To complete the setup we needed one person on top positioning the block in the middle and screwing the bolt, a person on the bottom that steaded the block, a person to place the weights, a person calling out the weights, and two people writing the weight held from each bridge. Also, the judges would gather the sheets that had the rubric of the bridge competitions.
Test:
To test the bridges we first weighed the bridge, then place the bridge on the tester and have one person screw on the block while one holds the block still, next we had someone grab the weights and place them in the bucket carefully, then the person in charge of the weights told the person with the megaphone and they called out the weights, while they put the weights two people write down each weight, and the person would continue to add weights until it breaks.
Gathering Results:
When the bridge broke we placed the bridge aside and the people that were writing down the weights would add up the total of the weight held. The judge would write the name of the school and grade the rubric then calculate the weight held over the weight of the bridge.
Results:
The first palace winner was Buford Elementary
Students: Alexxa J. Nayeli M. Jennifer C. Allyson D. Britny O.
Mentors: Merali C. Martha S.
Winning Weight: 12,000 grams
- West Point Bridge Designer App
- 50 natural wood craft sticks (basswood)
- 3 bottles of water-soluble Elmer’s-type wood glue
- Blueprint paper
- Graphing Paper
- Sand Paper
- Saw
Steps to complete the bridge competition:
- Generate Concepts:
- Blueprint:
- Build:
- Bring Together:
The day of the competition overview:
To kick off the competition we sorted all the bridges that took part in the competition and reviewed them if they met the criteria for the bridge.
Setup:
To complete the setup we needed one person on top positioning the block in the middle and screwing the bolt, a person on the bottom that steaded the block, a person to place the weights, a person calling out the weights, and two people writing the weight held from each bridge. Also, the judges would gather the sheets that had the rubric of the bridge competitions.
Test:
To test the bridges we first weighed the bridge, then place the bridge on the tester and have one person screw on the block while one holds the block still, next we had someone grab the weights and place them in the bucket carefully, then the person in charge of the weights told the person with the megaphone and they called out the weights, while they put the weights two people write down each weight, and the person would continue to add weights until it breaks.
Gathering Results:
When the bridge broke we placed the bridge aside and the people that were writing down the weights would add up the total of the weight held. The judge would write the name of the school and grade the rubric then calculate the weight held over the weight of the bridge.
Results:
The first palace winner was Buford Elementary
Students: Alexxa J. Nayeli M. Jennifer C. Allyson D. Britny O.
Mentors: Merali C. Martha S.
Winning Weight: 12,000 grams
Solar Car Competition
Overview:
On March 25, 2023, Lennox Academy held its first annual Stem Fair for the entire
Lennox Community and its members. During the Lennox Stem Fair, one of the
primary challenges organized was the Solar Car Competition. For this event,
participating students were tasked with constructing a fully-solar powered car that
could hold the most weight and have the quickest speed. Utilizing the limited
materials provided, students built their vehicles with the help of Lennox Academy
Mentors to be as creative, fast, and sturdy as possible.
Materials:
● 1 Piece of Cardboard
● 4 Wheels
● 1 Small Motor
● 2 Alligator Clips
● 1 Button
● 1 Foam Block
● 1 Small Gear
● 1 Solar Panel
● 2 Axle Rods
● 1 Small Wooden Dowel
● 3 Wooden Sticks
● 1 Wooden Square
● 6 Double-Sided Foam Stickers
● 3 Zip-Ties
● 1 Hot Glue Gun
● 5 Glue Sticks
● 1 AA Battery Holder
Day of the STEM Fair:
On the day of the Stem Fair, all 6 participating Lennox-District Elementary and
Middle Schools went against one another in the Solar Car Competition. At the start
of the competition, the following schools: Dolores Huerta Elementary, Buford
Elementary, Moffett Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Felton Elementary, and
Lennox Middle School began by weighing their vehicles. Afterward, one by one,
each team began preparing their cars behind the starting line and raced them. The
first competition was the speed race, where the winning team was determined by
taking the distance each vehicle traveled and dividing it by the time it took to reach
it. Later, in the most-weight competition, the winner was judged based on the
weight the car carried divided by the weight of the vehicle, meaning the highest
answer value would win. Finally, the winning teams of the Solar Car Competition
were Moffett Elementary in 1st place, Dolores Huerta in 2nd place, and Buford
Elementary in 3rd place.
Competition Judges
VEX Robotics Competition
John Stabile Alejandra Vasquez |
Bridge Competition
Yaired Carmona Brian Gonzalez |
Solar Car Competition
Brandon Colo Sofia Diaz |