Problem solving, teamwork and design

The last couple of Lego sessions we have focused on trying to pull together as a team. now that we know how the robot works we have a better idea of what skills we will need to complete the challenge. We have completed a number of tasks which will hopefully come in handy in the long run.

Team building games

Blanket toss: Children split into two teams and each team was given a blanket the idea was to toss a ball from one blanket to another. Not as easy as it sounds.
Pipe and ball is a good team work one but it does all get a bit frantic so no pictures of this one. basically they are split into two teams and each team is given a set of gutering of differing lengths and a ball. The teams have to get the ball from one side of the room to the other, without touching it, and get the ball into a pot. This really brought out the competetive edge. Our winning time was 14 seconds. In a later session we adapted this so the task was completed in teams of two who then had to better their time and then make the course the ball had to take more complex. great for learning to communicate with each other.

There have been many other games including wrapping children together in cling film and asking them to negotiate their way round the room, blindfold obstacle courses, where one person has to lead another, balloon races and chocolate eating games.

Problem solving and design

We have pretended to be shipwrecked and had to decide, as a team, what would be useful in the life boat. We have designed personal alarms for the elderly and devices that allow people who use crutches or wheechairs to carry their personal belongings around. We are keeping our designs under wraps for now - just in case.



We have used lego to make marble runs. These present a number of design challenges as the run has to stand up without the supporting pillars falling over, slope downwards but not too steeply. The surface the marble rolls down needs to be wide enough to allow the marble to pass through, but also have sides so it doesn't roll off. The marble needs to run round corners and not shoot out of the end of the run so that you can't find it!!


 We have made marble runs a couple of times, the first  time, each group made their own, but the second time we just made one marble run with each sucessive group buildng onto the first one. It worked quite well and certainly revealed who is good at adding Lego parts without destroying what has already been built! This is going to be an important skill in the actual competition as we will need to adapt our robot as we go to meet the challenges ofthe robot game. This method of cooperative design and problem solving will probably be how we come up with the best robot in the end.


We have also braistormed possible problems the elderly may have so we can solve them for the research part of the project. LT has spoken to a few people and done some seriously professional research whihc we will need to utilise once the challenge is revealed.

One more session before we are doing this for real. Off to read the coaches handbook!!