KS1 LEGO STEM PROJECT

This half term, pupils in Elm, Beech and Sycamore Class are completing a Lego STEM Project with Cognition Learning.

Session 1

The classes had their first session and so much fun and learning took place! Just walking past the classroom you could instantly see the enjoyment and the fabulous teamwork going on.
 
In this session, children were exploring forces and motion, where they had to build a model of a dance floor and DJ using gears. They investigated the effects of different size gears and changes in speed and motion.

Session 2

In Session 2, the children worked together to build an ice hockey model. They then played with their completed models, practising making and blocking shots with a slow, medium, and fast pull force.

 

The children explored the effects of different strengths of push and pull forces on the motion of an object and investigated how a rack and pinion mechanism works to convert a linear-pull into a rotational push.

SESSION 3

In Session 3, the children investigated different forces through building a push car and pushing mechanism. They then became scientists and predicted the affect the brake would have on the distance the car would travel, investigated this using their knowledge of fair testing and measurement and used the data they collected to make conclusions.
 
One group commented, “When we had the brake on, there was so much friction so the car only went 2cm but when we took the brake off, the friction reduced even though there was still some friction because of gravity. This made it travel 15cm and so much faster!”

SESSION 4

In Session 4, the children explored the force of gravity and used it to build a tightrope walker. For this, they had to think about balanced and unbalanced forces and the centre of gravity in order to effectively balance their tightrope walker. 

One group commented, “When they stay balanced on top of the rope, the rope pushes up on the walker’s feet to keep them from falling off.”