Month / May 2022

by cholliman1

LEGO Car Program

Synopsis: We built motorized LEGO cars powered by small DC motors and 9 volt batteries.

Age Group: Elementary Aged

Prep time: several hours

Budget: around $50 for a program with 12 children attending

Supplies needed:

small DC motors with gear boxes

9 volt batteries

small switches

9 volt battery clip connectors

3D printed axels (to connect gearbox to LEGO axel)

Lots of LEGOs (especially wheels and axels)

Soldering tool

glue dots

Directions:

I wired and soldered all of the electronics ahead of time, because this process is not safe for children. Begin by soldering the wires to the motor leads. Then solder one motor wire to a lead on the switch. Solder another motor wire to the battery clip connector. Solder the other wire from the battery clip connector to the other switch lead. Refer to the picture for the final result.

Next insert your 3D printed axels (mine are blue in the picture) onto your gearbox axels. Then insert LEGO axels into your 3D printed axels. Connect the 9 volt battery and turn on the switch to see if it all works. Refer to the picture for reference.

Now use glue dots to place a couple of LEGO pieces on top of the gearbox, on top of the battery, etc. These LEGO pieces will serve as the starting point for kids to build and connect other LEGO pieces to make their car. Also make sure to use glue dots to position the battery. Refer to the picture for my final outcome. Yours may look a little different and that’s fine.

When the program began, I placed all of the wired motors and batteries on a table, so that children could grab one and get building.

Encourage children to be as creative as they want. Many of the kids in my program built some interesting looking cars! We even set up some ramps using cardboard and wooden blocks, which was a big hit.

Conclusion: This program was a hit. I would grade it as a B+/A- based on the enthusiasm and interest level of the children. I allowed each child to take their pre-wired motor, battery, gearbox, etc. so that they could continue to build at home. The only downside of this program is the expense of materials and the time spent soldering, 3D printing, and putting things together.

by cholliman1

Dead End In Norvelt By Jack Gantos

Title: Dead End In Norvelt

Author: Jack Gantos

Publication Info: Square Fish 2013

Plot: Norvelt is a small town in western Pennsylvania that has seen its best days, but the long time residents are too stubborn to let it die. With the arrival of summer, Norvelt resident Jack Gantos (the character, not the author) is hoping to spend it playing baseball and sneaking peeks at the war movies at the drive in theater. Jack’s plans are disrupted when his neighbor Ms. Volker requests his assistance typing up obituaries for the local paper. On top of that, his father ropes him into a scheme to construct a fallout shelter and airfield in their backyard. Throughout this strange summer, Jack learns a good deal about his hometown and its quirky residents.

My Take: Author Jack Gantos writes excellent realistic fiction (or perhaps historical fiction in this case, if you consider the early 1970’s history!) and has a talent for bringing the quirks of characters and locations to life. He also writes humor very well and I found myself laughing in many parts of this book. As I got deeper into the story, I began to wonder what was the point of it all. I don’t mean this as a criticism, but rather as a strength of the novel. Gantos captures the slow summer days and strangeness of a dying town in the early 70’s, something he could not do if he had a heavy agenda for his characters. I appreciated this book, but younger readers with shorter attention spans may find it a slog. Recommend this book to seasoned readers looking for some funny realistic fiction.

One Interesting Note About The Author: According to his website, Gantos really grew up in Norvelt. In school, he was “in the Bluebird reading group, which he later found out was for the slow readers.”