This document provides information about 4-H robotics programs, including LEGO Mindstorms robotics. It discusses what LEGO Mindstorm robots are and how they can be used. It describes various 4-H robotics activities like workshops, camps, and competitions like FLL. It provides resources for curriculum, training, and funding. The goal is to help more youth get involved in 4-H robotics and support the growth of robotics programs.

1. 4-H
Problem-
Solving, Teamwork
& Fun through LEGO
Mindstorm
Robotics

2. So what is a LEGO
MINDSTORM NXT
Robot?
Microprocessor Motors
Touch Sensor
Sound Sensor
Ultrasonic Light Sensor
Sensor

3. Robots come in all kinds of
designs

4. http://shop.LEGO.com/ Click on Product Demo
What can you do with it?

5. You are also coming in at a
very exciting time for youth
Robotics Programs
LEGO Mindstorm EV3

6. With 4-H Robotics you can…
• Do a Saturday or Early Out 4-H Robotics
Find-Out workshop
• You can do 3 day & 5 day day camps to
generate interest
• Just invite some kids into the Ext Office to
play for an afternoon
• Start a Special Interest 4-H Robotics Club
• You can start a F.I.R.S.T. LEGO League
(FLL) team

7. What is it about 4-H (handout Top 10
Reasons 4-H
Robotics that works?
Educators will
love Robotics)
10. Everyone likes to play with robots
9. And it’s not just young people—
volunteers love them too!
8. You’ll never build robots alone
7. Computer, Science and Engineering
Skills? Check, Check and Check!
6. Living on a farm is optional

8. What is it about 4-H
Robotics that works?
5. You don’t outgrow robots
4. Scientists wanted
3. What better way to get an engineer for
a 4-H Volunteer!
2. Funders will be knocking on your door
1. Kids learn a lot—and love Doing IT!

9. You are not alone in this
• We have grown from 1 4-H Team
participating in the State FLL
Championship in Ames to 18 last year
which means probably about 3 Xs that
many participated in the FLL Season (50-
60 4-H Affiliated teams)
• In Region 17, each of our counties have at
least 1 team and Mills has 3, Harrison 8

10. So How do you get Started?
• By doing what you are doing
today…finding out what this 4-H Robotics
is about and what is it about these robots
• By jumping in and learning some basics
about the robots, building and
programming and just plain playing
• We will share with you tools that will help
you get started….

11. We will talk about…
• Funding
• Day Camp Planning
• Half day and full day workshops
• Curriculum tools for teaching and youth
learning
• Supports and resources for F.I.R.S.T. LEGO
League Teams (FLL)
• We will talk about after FLL opportunities to
continue with 4-H Robotics

12. But First Let’s take
some time to Start
Building and
programming robots

13. We are going to be
introducing a Nationally
Recognized NXT Robotics
Curriculum GEAR-TECH-21
• Developed by UNL Extension 4-H
• Funded by National Science Foundation
• Online or downloadable NXT Robotics
Lessons
• Because of your 4-H Connection you have
access to these materials

14. GEAR-TECH-21
• Camp Activities Year 1 • Simplebot
• Can access on your • Hello World
desktop or on website • Get Moving
• We will be using only • Turns
the Robotics Lessons • Loops
• Another section on • Avoidance
GPS/GIS mapping
technologies • Decibel Detection
• On Cue
• Robot Challenges

15. GEAR-TECH-21 Lessons
• Navigating…NEXT/BACK buttons on top
or Arrows at bottom left
• Simplebot Lesson
– Parts and List of Parts in Kit from Carnegie
Mellon Robotics Academy
– Build Simplebot

16. Now Let’s Get them Moving
• The 4 D’s of robots
• Program Challenge
– Forward/Back
– The most accurate Drag Race Challenge

17. NXT Video Trainer Resource
• Accessible through registering at
– http://www.cs2n.org/partners/4-h
• Then you will enroll in specific courses like
– 4-H Robotics 1: NexT Technology
– 4-H Robotics 2: NeXT Steps
– NXT Video Trainer 2.0 Online
– NXT Programming for FLL Teams
– http://learn.cs2n.org/my/

18. Moving on to
• Turns
• Loops
• Touch Sensor
• Ultrasonic Sensor
• Light Sensor
• Final Challenge

19. Funding to put robots in your
county
• Borrow some robots from a neighboring
county to start with
• We started a couple of FLL Teams with
– Rockwell Collins Team Start-Up Grants
– Governor’s STEM FLL Start UP Grants
• Look at your 4-H Funding and dedicate
some dollars to purchasing a couple of kits
and used laptops ($500 per kit)

20. Funding to put robots in your
county
• Local grant $$ are usually available for a
Strong STEM youth program
• You might be able to find support from a
local manufacturing or implement dealer to
help purchase a few kits for workshops
• Since you may not use them continually
throughout the year, maybe you can
partner with another county

21. What is 4-H FIRST LEGO
League?
• Teams of up to 10 kids and
guided by at least one adult
coach, team members have
about 10 weeks to work on
the Annual Challenge
• Each annual Challenge has
two parts, the Project and
the Robot Game

22. The 3 Rs of
FIRST LEGO League
• Robots– learning to program the
robots, build add-ons to accomplish the tasks
set forth in the challenge on the Challenge
Field in the 2.5 minute opportunity to
showcase their robot and programming
• Research- Learning about the challenge and
how our community can make a difference
and presenting it in a creative way
• Report– Defend the robot, your
programming, your teamwork and your
research project

23. FIRST LEGO League
Core Values
• We are a team
• We do the work to find solutions with guidance
from our coaches and mentors
• We honor the spirit of friendly competition
• What we discover is more important than what
we win
• We share our experiences with others
• We display gracious professionalism in
everything we do
• We have fun

25. FIRST LEGO League 4-H
Clubs
• Decision-making
• Communication
• Leadership
• And Citizenship—Connecting research to
community
• Open House Presentations
• County Fair Club Project and
Demonstrations

26. 4-H FLL Teams Embrace Core Values
• We are a team.
• We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and
mentors.
• We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we
learn together.
• We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
• What we discover is more important than what we win.
• We share our experiences with others.
• We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything
we do.
• We have FUN!

27. FLL Events
• Technical Interview
» Run Missions completed
» for 5 minutes
» Explain how you
designed your
Apparatuses
» Share how your design
» Process progressed

28. FLL Events
• Teamwork Interview
»
Accomplish Task
Share how you worked
as a team
What did you learn
working together?
What role did each
player take?
How did you get along?

29. FLL Events
• Project Research Presentation
»
•Research a community
connection to the year’s
theme
•Brainstorm a way your
community could impact that
theme
•Plan a project to impact that
theme
•Plan a creative way to share
•Share it with the community
•5 Minutes including Setup

30. FLL Events
• Robotics Challenge
» •2 ½ minutes to complete as
many missions as possible
•Only 2 members at the
board at one time…can tag
and change
•Use only one robot
•Must practice changing
apparatuses so that doesn’t
slow you up
•Don’t shy away from
Regional if you only have a
few missions completed

31. In Harrison County and
in Region 17
• Harrison County has 8 teams and
Montgomery, Page, Fremont, East Pottawattamie
each have 1 Team and Mills County has 3 teams
• We have worked hard to maintain a 4-H Identity
– 4-H Lanyard Nametags, 4-H Bandanas, 4-H Water
bottles, 4-H Pencils as Trade Bling for teams at State
– 4-H Clover on each of their team shirts
– The County Extension office works with each team on
enrollments, Med Forms, and FLL forms for regional

32. 2013 Challenge
Nature’s FuryCan FIRST® LEGO® League teams help us
master natural disasters? In the 2013
NATURE’S FURY℠ Challenge, over
200,000 children ages 9 to 16* from over 70
countries will explore the awe-inspiring
storms, quakes, waves and more that we
call natural disasters. Teams will discover
what can be done when intense natural
events meet the places people
live, work, and play. Brace yourself for
NATURE’S FURY!
FLL challenges kids to think like scientists
and engineers. During NATURE’S FURY
teams will build, test, and program an
autonomous robot using LEGO
MINDSTORMS® to solve a set of missions
in the Robot Game. They will also choose
and solve a real -world problem in the
Project. Throughout their
experience, teams will operate under FLL’s
signature set of Core Values.

33. To help the 4-H Robotics
Program Grow….
• Holding day camps during the summer
allows youth to interact with 4-H Robotics
and they are likely to want to continue the
learning process
• They are also learning
teamwork, communication, citizenship and
problem solving as a part of the learning
process about robots

34. We have excellent
Curriculum to share
• GEAR-TECH-21
– Developed by the UNL
Extension 4-H
Program
– Online and Multimedia
teaching modules
– Youth can work
through the materials
at their own pace

36. We have excellent
Curriculum to share
• Carnegie Mellon
Robotics Academy
– Offered FREE for any 4-H
Affiliated Staff and
Volunteers
– Online and Multimedia
teaching modules
– Lots of Great Teaching
Videos

38. We have been holding Successful
Daycamps and Workshops
• 3 Years of 5-Day Day Camp in Harrison
County—20-25 youth per year
• 2 Years of 3-Day Successful Daycamp in
Mills County—20-22 youth per year
– Product of these Daycamps
• Five years of successful FLL Growth in Harrison
County
• 8 FLL Teams in Harrison County
• 3 Teams in Mills County

39. 5 Day & 3 Day 4-H Robotics Camps
• Days run from 9-3 p.m.
• Youth Grouped into teams of 3
• Morning focus is team building until Mid
Morning
• Before Lunch we share a new Robot
concept and practice it
• Afternoon is filled with challenges

40. 5 Day
• By day three the hard core robotics youth
are still in the thick of it….others need a
distraction so we do a science craft to
break up the afternoon
– Air Powered Rockets
– Alcohol Based Sharpie Marker Tie Dye
– Incredible Shrinking Minis

41. 5 Day & 3 Day 4-H Robotics Camps
• We plan for the last half hour to be show and
tell for parents or others picking up
• Last Day we plan an hour of Program for the
parents and family of youth attending the
program…each team plans a portion of
program highlighting their robot and
challenges
• Some of the youth are just really into building
with LEGOs so we plan at least two afternoon
challenges based on building with LEGOs

42. 4-H Robotics Camp Video
• 2011
• 2012
– http://youtu.be/tmnWd9pqESU Day 1 Video
– http://youtu.be/Lu24oqJWqZc Day 2 Video
– http://youtu.be/2ay5rmKx_7o Day 3 Video
– http://youtu.be/c-SqhutGmn8 Day 4 Video

43. ½ Day or Early Out
Workshops
• Allow the youth to do some teamwork and
then fairly quickly get to building the
Simplebot (average 30 minute build) and
then able to do basic programming and
challenges

44. GEAR-TECH-21 Robotics Camp Grants
• 2013 GEAR-TECH-21 Camp Grants
• All curriculum is provided, including online modules for youth and detailed
helpers guides for each activity.
• Two-day, in-person or distance camp staff training provided by GEAR-Tech-21.
• Robotics kits and GPS units are available for camp programs to rent during the
camp session. All equipment is provided on a first-requested basis to all camp
programs.
• In 2013, GEAR-Tech-21 will award participant cost support based on
size of camp program:
– Small camps will be funded at $500 each (up to 20 campers)
– Large camps will be funded at $1000 each (more than 20 campers)
• GEAR-Tech-21 support ONLY covers participant costs: site rental fees, participant
food, participant t-shirts, program materials like handouts, notebooks, and
consumable supplies.
• Camps must include more than 20 hours of curriculum-based activities to be
funded.

45. 4-H Jr. FLL
• For 6-9 year olds interested in Robotics
but too young for FLL
• These youth go on to participate on 4-H
FLL Teams
• Similar theme to the FLL Theme for the
year
• Focus more on building than programming

46. What happens to kids after
FLL?
• Programs that continue to support their
interest in Robotics
– ISU Engineering IT-Adventures Robot Venue
• Building SUMO Wrestling Robots
– FIRST Tech Challenge
– FIRST Robotic Challenge