Boyd students turn cardboard into robots
Jun. 9—Cardboard covered the desks inside the library media center at Boyd County Middle School Wednesday. The end result would be hydraulic robotic arms capable of picking up an empty pop can.
ACES camp is a two-week program through the 21st Century grant program, Site Director Tina Adams said.
The goal is to help students retain knowledge over the summer, so they won't forget and have to play catch-up again in the fall, she said.
The camp is hands-on learning.
"We want to teach the fun way," Adams said.
A video played on the screen and walked the students through the steps to build the hydraulic arm. The student took box cutters and X-ACTO knives to the brown paper pulp materialto create the exact shapes they would need.
Cutting was the hardest part, according to incoming sixth-grader Colton Adkins, because it took nearly a whole day.
Adams said the students worked on the project for two days. They began working individually, but paired together to speed the process and problem solve on day two.
Adkins worked alongside Ethan Everman, who will head to the seventh grade in the fall. The boys talked and passed jokes and comments as they worked on their robotic arm.
The two talked about their field trip scheduled for Friday at the Challenger Learning Center in Hazard. Everman has been there multiple times, but the trip will be Adkins' first adventure. He is looking forward to it. While Everman doesn't have the same new excitement, he did say he enjoyed the space ship and seeing the engine that once flew to space on his first trip.
The students will be able to fly a rocket to Mars in a simulation, Adams said.
The space theme of the week is a primary reason Layla Allie decided to head back to school for camp. She loves the solar system, specifically learning about the stars.
Allie carefully worked to fold her cardboard into the correct shapes that would become the arm of her hydraulic robotic arm.
Zander Nottingham showed off a trip wire buzzer he made Tuesday. He explained a clothes pin was connected to a paper cup via a red and blue wire. Copper was attached and a piece of paper was pinched by the clothes pin. When the paper was removed, the cup would begin to vibrate.
Next week, the students will have Carnival Week. They will have a career carnival, field day and a mock accident, Adams said.
Fire, police and EMS will bring a wrecked car to the school to show students what happens in such a situation. The camp is using it as a dual-purpose educational moment. The students will learn a bit about what police, fire and EMS do and learn about the dangers of driving recklessly or under the influence.
Adams said though the students are a few years away from driving age, they are old enough to begin learning about the dangers of driving and alcohol.
