AFTER SCHOOL STEM & DESIGN 2 | Grades 4-8 | Cost $200 for 5 weeks

A great variety of STEM and Design topics to excite and energize your student!

Explore robotics , graphic design and animation , 3D modeling and 3D printing , and engineering design challenges . One or two of these topics will be covered each week. Students will have complete access to free software for 3D modeling and graphic design to use at home and keep on learning. These introductions will open the door for students to dig deeper on their own and join higher level programs with Robotics And Beyond in year-round classes or summer camps.

Grades 4-8 or by permission. This class meets on Tuesdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3 (May 10 and 17 backup dates). The class fee covers 2 hours between 3:00 and 6:00 pm. Extended time between 3:00 and 6:15 pm is available for $15/hour. This is a 5-week class. Assistance with class fee is available, please ask! Limit 8 students.

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Date

Apr 05 2022
Expired!

Time

3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Location

Robotics And Beyond Office
46 Bridge Street, New Milford, CT 06776

We are here to help your kids discover their talents and start applying STEM principles and problem solving in everyday life. This is your chance to help us raise another generation of independent thinkers. DONATE TODAY to help us maintain our classes, provide necessary training to our young mentors, and ensure access to all. Together we help keep this community educated and help our children build a better future for everyone.

 

Introduction to Robotics using LEGO NXT or LEGO EV3

 

Grades 3-6 & 7-12. 1-day workshops, or multi-day classes and week long summer camp, 2 hours/class. In-person only.

Build a robot and learn fundamentals of programming and robotics engineering with LEGO’s programmable NXT or EV3 robotics system of controller, motors, sensors and Mindstorms software. The use of NXT or EV3 system will depend on the student’s age and experience. Students will work in pairs but exceptions may be allowed to work alone. Once students accomplish required tasks and simpler challenges, they can choose from higher level challenges or build a more complex robot of their own design or one provided by the instructors. The final class will include optional robot battles within a 4 foot arena ring where students test mechanical design and programming strategies against each other.

 

Learn about LEGO Mindstorms

Learn more about EV3 and NXT

Introduction to 2-Dimensional Graphic Design and Animation with Fire Alpaca

 

Grades 3-12. 1-day workshops, or 1 to 2 hour sessions in multi-day classes and week long summer camps. In-person or Online.

Explore true artistic graphic design, in 2-dimensions, with the free, open-source software FireAlpaca, and learn to create animations of your work. Students will create their own account and can continue using the software year-round. Student projects from summer camps will be stored as a video on our YouTube channel. FireAlpaca is an open-source graphic art alternative to Photoshop and has the added benefit of animation. This  is a great way to start learning about graphic art software and animation concepts and skills in general like layering, textures, color palettes and much more. This topic provides a great basis for learning about more capable animation software in our other camp topics like Krita and Pro-Create.

 

Requirements:

 

- The only requirement is an interest in graphic art and creating your own, original art and animations.
- Keyboard (typing) ability is needed only for saving and opening design files.
- Installation of Fire Alpaca on the student’s home computer is required. The software is safe to download and use. Instructions will be provided for downloading and installing the software if needed.

 

Learn more about FireAlpaca

Tinkercad - Introduction to 3D modeling and 3D printing

 

Grades 3-12 or by permission. 1-day workshops, or 1 to 2 hour sessions in multi-day classes and week long summer camps. In-person or Online.

Tinkercad is a great way for students interested in 3D modeling and design to get a feel for what working in a 3D environment is like! Tinkercad is a free, introductory educational software created by engineering software company Autodesk. Tinkercad runs in your browser so it requires no software download and allows you to create an account and save your projects. Students will learn how to create, dimension, combine, and customize pre-generated and custom drawn geometric shapes to create basic models, parts, and inventions. Tinkercad has many other fun uses like electronics and “brick building.” Tinkercad is also the perfect start for moving up to Autodesk Fusion 360, which is our choice for teaching higher levels of 3D modeling, product design, mechanical design and making prototypes. Each student can choose one suitable model to be printed by Robotics And Beyond and picked up in New Milford or mailed to the home.

 

Requirements:

 

- Computer access (Windows, Mac, or Chromebook all work!)
- Access to Google Chrome (other browsers may work but Chrome is what we base our classes on, so certain aspects may differ on Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc.)
- An Autodesk Tinkercad account (a tutorial for making the account will be sent to parents before classes begin)

 

Learn more about Tinkercad

Tinkercad Wikipedia

Engineering and Design Challenges

 

Grades 3-6. Offered as 1 to 1.5 hour sessions in week long summer camps or after school and weekend workshops. In-person only.

Using basic materials or LEGOs, students will be given a variety of challenges and then design and build solutions for them. The challenges may be structural, functional or simply artistic, but the focus will be on coming up with original ideas, discovery and aesthetics, as well as solving the problem given by the challenge. Working alone, in pairs or as a group, students will be encouraged to let their curiosity and imagination lead them to create innovative designs for each challenge.