STEM Winter Camp with Wenlin Elementary School

1. Our Goal

(1) Promote STEM education with easy courses

(2) Let young kids learn the importance of cooperation

(3) Increase their interest in science and technology

2. Our Courses

(1) Design Your Own Chatbot!

Chatfuel is an easy way to build a no-code chatbot. We designed some lessons for them to learn the basic functions of Chatfuel and let the kids make their own chatbots using their creative imaginations and ideas. We then let them share their chatbots with others.

(2) Game Designer - Design Arcade Games with Scratch!

Scratch is a block-based visual programming language and website targeted primarily at children 8-16 as an educational tool for coding. In this course, students learned the basic functions of Scratch from an arcade soccer game. After learning the basics, the coders programmed their own goalkeeper to increase the difficulty of the game!

(3) Ready, steady, go! Design a kinetic car

Students learned the fundamental laws of physics, such as Newton's law, friction, and also Bernoulli's Principle. Having these knowledges, each group designed two kinetic cars, using motors to power the car. Then they had a race and shared their ideas with others.

(4) I'm a designer! Design 3D Graphics with Tinkercad

Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics, and coding. It has an easy-to-learn interface so kids can get started with ease. They learned the basic functions of the website and drew their own 3D graphics! They then shared their works and ideas with others.

3. Events in between courses

(1) Introduction of our team

We introduced our team and what we do. We also introduced FIRST and the goals they want us to achieve, also sharing some clips about the competition.

(2) Guess the code- Learning the importance of communication and cooperation

This was an easy game to play. Four people sat in a line. The person in the back would get a code and pass the code from the last person to the first. Then the person in the front would have to guess the code. As the code got more complicated, the group needed to look for a better way to communicate by only using their hands. This game let them know the importance of communication and cooperation.

(3) What are robots?

What are robots? Robots are now everywhere in our lives and they make our lives more convenient. We shared some robots designed by Boston Dynamics, including Spot, Atlas and more. We also introduced different kinds of robots and how they change our lives.

4. Kids' and parents' feedback

After the camp ended, we had some feedback from the school. The kids think the camp is fun and
learned some knowledge and skills from it. They also think that we are humorous and full of
passion, hoping us to hold a camp again next year. We are grateful to hear this and we hope that
we can have a chance to host it again!