VEX Robotics in the Upper School

On March 13, Germantown Academy’s Robotics Team competed in the first-ever Philadelphia 76ers Robotics Night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Sixers partnered with the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation to host the official R.E.C. Foundation exhibition match for VRC and VEX IQ robotics on the court prior to their game against the Sacramento Kings, and to raise S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) awareness.

Overall, GA’s team, including Nichelle Hall '15, Patrick Ledwith '15, Abay Tadesse '15, Trent Weiss '15, and Justin Wong '15, made it to the semifinals of the tournament. Maitreya Venkataswamy '16 was GA's key programmer. Upper School science teacher Diane Goldstein and Arts Center Production Manager and Technical Director Bill Kingsbury were GA’s faculty advisors. Upper School science teacher Mike Rheam led the team at two previous competitions.

GA’s team built a robot to meet certain tasks. They also programmed the robot to run an autonomous section. As a team, they learned how to communicate, work together, and to meet deadlines.  Read more about the event here.

Middle School Math in Action: Bungee or Bust

Students in Suzanne Zurcher’s recent math classes were particularly excited about data collection. Who could blame them? Water balloons were involved! The class had just completed its study of linear equations, including how to find the equations of a line when given two points that fall on that line. Each group was given a "bungee buddy” (water balloon) that had a rubber band attached. The students’ mission was to send their new balloon buddy bungee jumping without breaking it.
Using data collected in class and drawing a line of best fit, the students determined the equation of the line and then made the prediction of the number of rubber bands they needed to make the balloon drop about 465 centimeters (the distance from the top of the Middle School stairwell near the Business Office to the ground) before springing back. The goal was to have the balloon come as close to the ground as possible with touching before it springs back. Zurcher reports, “This project allowed the students to use their study of linear equations to make predictions in a real life situation and have some fun at the same time!”

Kids Teaching Kids (Engineering): Light Up Greeting Cards

In their most recent  KTK/Young Engineers activity, Kindergarten students created their own light-up greeting cards to celebrate spring.  Using copper tape and LED’s, they turned a simple circuit on a piece of paper into the functional light-up greeting card.