STEM Dog says, "Hi Friends!"

There will be a new STEM Dog Challenge coming soon! 

The NXT Challenge

Check out these future computer programmers - they are amazing!

Planet Oobleckian Challenge

All grade three students at CES recently completed part one of the Planet Oobleckia challenge where these young scientists determined that Oobleck does not act like a solid or a liquid. In fact, they learned that Oobleck has a unique set of rules because it is a Non-Newtonian fluid! Check back soon to see how they utilize this information on day two of the challenge!

Planet Oobleckia Day 1-

NASA has recently discovered a planet named Oobleckia. The planet appears to have an atmosphere  and terrain very similar to earth, except for its ocean, which is made up of a very strange substance names Oobleck. NASA would like to explore this planet and needs your help. Due to the mountainous terrain on the planet, the only surface area that appears flat enough to land a space ship is the ocean. Therefore NASA woulds like you to use your science inquiry skills to define the properties of the strange substance and decide if Oobleck is a liquid or a solid. 

Planet Oobleckia Day 2

Engineering Design Challenge

NASA has requested that you design a prototype of a space ship that can land on an ocean of Oobleck without sinking, take off without getting stuck, and carry a load of 6 astronauts.

  Criteria:

• The spaceship must fit freely inside the container, which means the sides of the prototype may not touch the sides of the container.
• The spaceship must support the weight of six astronauts (6 washers) for at least 1 minute without sinking.
•  Your space ship may not weigh more than 100 grams, fully loaded.
• The space ship must be able to take off without getting stuck in the Oobleck. Since the space ship only has enough power to exert 1 ½ newton’s of force during lift off, if your prototype requires more than 1 ½ newton’s of force, your space ship is considered “stuck.”
• Your prototype must be able to attach and detach easily to the spring scale.

  Constraints:

• You may use no more than 5 materials in your design.
• The astronauts may never come in contact with the Oobleck.
• The astronauts must be able to exit the spaceship easily so that they can explore the planet, therefore one face or side of the spaceship must remain open at all times.
• At no time during the test may you touch the spaceship. The only contact that can be made with the spaceship is the spring scale during takeoff and landing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Robotics at Crossroads Elementary!

The fourth and fifth grade students have recently built LEGO NXT robots and are now writing programs that allow their robots to accomplish some very tricky tasks.