The Inventor
8-9 years
5h + pre- and post-work
4275
How do motorized things around us work? How do gears and pulleys function? Join The Inventor, a Newton Module that challenges students’ creativity, technical understanding, and algorithmic thinking. This module covers basic technological principles and lets students explore technology and design through open-ended tasks.
In The Inventor, students will gain insight into how many motorized tools and devices around us work. Through practical and creative LEGO building, students will experience technological principles where motor power is transferred via gears or belts with pulleys, enabling the creation of new movements. In our modern world, much of the technology is controlled by electronics. Students will also become familiar with this by using programming alongside their inventions. How does the sliding door that opens when you enter a store actually work? Students will encounter several such examples of technology in the module.
The module includes creative LEGO building, understanding how motor power can be transferred to other moving parts, practical use of sensors, and basic block programming in SPIKE Prime.
The pre-work introduces students to some key components from the LEGO sets, lets them study gears and pulleys through images, and challenges them to discuss how certain technological inventions work.
Activities during the day in the Newton Room:
Act. 1 - The Lift: Students are introduced to equipment, key components in the building sets, and basic programming in SPIKE Prime. Then they build a lift that can raise a LEGO figure up and lower it back down.
Act. 2 - Everything is Spinning: Without building instructions, students will act as inventors and develop their technical understanding by creating a machine where axles, gears, and pulleys work together and are powered by a motor. The motor is programmed using LEGO SPIKE Prime, and the functionality is extended to control the operation using sensors.
Act. 3 - The Vehicle: Students will build a motorized vehicle without instructions, following these specifications: The vehicle must be motor-powered, able to move forward and backward, and able to stop before an obstacle. Finally, the vehicle will be extended with an additional moving part.
During the module, photos and videos of the students’ inventions will be taken. These will be used in the post-work at school as part of documentation and reflection.
Students work in pairs through the entire module.
The module is designed for ages 8 and 9 years old.
Note! Because the module consists of highly open-ended tasks, it may require a lot of guidance. Therefore, the maximum number of students is set to 20.
