Offered the week of July 25-29 from 9 am – 11:30 am. Maximum 10 campers.
The concept for Robotics And Beyond’s Minecraft OASIS originated from the virtual reality world OASIS that was the backdrop in the book and movie Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. This is a long-term project that we expect to last for several years. Read more details here .
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Grades 7-12 or by permission. Summer camps, 1 to 2 hour multi-day classes, and 1-day workshops. Inquire about online options.
The concept for Robotics And Beyond’s Minecraft OASIS originated from the virtual reality world OASIS that was the backdrop in the book and movie Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. This is a long-term project that we expect to last for several years.
The OASIS is stored on an AWS (Amazon Web Server).
Participants can choose from three roles.
1. Server software, permissions and other “back-end” functions
2. Design and building of worlds, structures and properties
3. Strategies and prizes for quests and games
Our OASIS universe consists of 27 square “sectors” arranged like a Rubik’s Cube. Each sector will eventually contain a number of planets. Our plan is to create a large-scale game with the following features.
- Non-combat and PVP (player vs. player) worlds or regions
- Private properties to be bought by players and developed as they desire
- Quests and other games where players can earn credits and artifacts or special abilities
- Teleportation between places on a world and between worlds
- Frequent references to names, places, games, music and movies that were part of the book Ready Player One
- A set of governing rules
The first class will introduce the concept of the OASIS, how it is hosted, discuss the overall design, choose roles for each student and begin working. The remaining classes will focus on designing and finishing quests and games so they are fully operational. Team members will be allowed to work on the project between classes during limited hours. Collaboration and discussion between team members will be essential and is an important goal for the project.
Requirements:
- A deep interest in Minecraft world building or the design of strategic quests and game plots and stories within the worlds.
- Ability to work as part of a team, collaborate respectfully, proper online conduct, and follow through on responsibilities for your effort on the project.
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. Depending on availability, students may also be able to use robots to solve FIRST LEGO League competition missions. 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.
Grades K-8. 1-day workshops, or 1 to 2 hour sessions in multi-day classes and week long summer camp. In-person or Online.
No keyboard skills necessary! We created this topic to help the youngest students learn very basic concepts of coding. Our goal is to provide the basic skills and understanding needed to allow them to begin our coding topics in Scratch, Java and Python. We use non-computer activities to illustrate some concepts. We use the online resources Code.org and Scratch to gain coding skills while playing and creating games. Students will also create accounts that will save their progress and projects, and work on them from anywhere from a computer or a phone or tablet.
Grades 3-12 in grade-appropriate concepts and activities. 1-day workshops, or 1 to 2 hour sessions in multi-day classes and week long summer camp. In-person or Online.
App Lab is an excellent, free programming environment (from Code.org) for building and sharing apps that will work on phones or tablets. Apps can be as simple or as complex as the student wishes to create and include animations, graphic art, user interaction and more. The workshop and classes are designed to quickly introduce App Lab as a fun and powerful tool. Students learn fundamental coding concepts and how to create and control buttons, text, images, sounds, and screens. Coding is done using simple-to-use programming blocks chosen from menus of blocks. The blocks can be easily converted to JavaScript code, allowing students to grow into their first text-based coding language.
After learning some basics, students can begin a simple app project like "Choose Your Own Adventure", "Greeting Card", or "Personality Quiz" app. They can also view and learn from more projects featured on the code.org/applab page. All multi-session classes will include a mini “hackathon” where students collaborate to create an app for a specific goal, and share their project with the other teams.
Students can continue to use App Lab at home on any laptop and many devices, at no cost.
Prior coding experience needed: none
Grades 3-12 in grade-appropriate concepts and activities. 1-day workshops, or 1 to 2 hour sessions in multi-day classes and week long summer camp. In-person only.
This topic uses fun and engaging activities to introduce interesting concepts of energy, the different forms of energy and changing one form of energy to another. The activities open young minds to what energy and power really are, and how renewable forms of energy can be used to create the power their world needs. Examples of energy sources or forms are mechanical, thermal, wind, solar, and electrical.
Students will also learn basic concepts of electricity and very simple circuits, and learn what soldering of circuits is all about.
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.
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)