The Oak Park Education Foundation's 7th annual Vex Robotics competition between Julian & Brooks students on January 28 was an amazing display of middle school engineering talent. More than 80 sixth-eight graders worked with teachers, volunteer engineers, and high school mentors after school for months to design, build and program inventive robots that showed their stuff on a playing field at the Julian gym in front of a packed house of cheering fans, friends and family.

This year Julian took back the trophy from Brooks in a 319-95 win. But they're not finished -- five teams from each middle school are still preparing for a regional competition in Batavia on February 11 to compete against area teams, most of them high schoolers.

During the Robotics competition, OPEF also held our first Open House showcasing all our programs: Architecture Adventure, Art Start, Science Alliance, Geared Up, Vex Robotics and BASE Camp. The Julian Commons was full of parents and kids, ages 5-12, trying their hands at challenging, educational and fun activities. Kids operated Vex Robots, build pocket totem sculptures, designed LEGO machines and created innovative buildings of LEGOs, experimented with water, rocks and electricity with EPA scientists, and created Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired window designs.

Thanks to all who participated, supported, attended, or followed us on Twitter, including our event sponsors: Aria Group Architects, Forest Park National Bank, Hoy Landscaping, It's A Sign, and Starship Restaurant & Catering.

Make sure to check out our slideshow of photos from the Vex Competition and Open House from photographers Maria Soderburg and Paul Goyette.



 

Check out our 2-minute videos of Geared Up and Architecture Adventure LEGO projects:

• Students in the 2nd/3rd grade class of Mr. Podlasek and Ms. Pasquinelli at Longfellow used our LEGO bricks to build early Native American communities. The project helped reinforce the concepts they learned about early Native American culture and the environments in which they lived. In addition to the video, make sure you also check out Oak Park photographer David Kindler's photos.
• At Longfellow, the entire 5th grade built windmills as part of their studies of how to generate and store energy. Photos by Gretchen Junker are here.
• Watch Ms. Turi's Holmes 3rd graders build and test principles of simple machines using wheels and axles (video by Erich Kittlaus).
• Ms. Ndaiye's Holmes 3rd graders show off their Geared Up engineering skills and enthusiasm with a great sound track by Atiba Jali.
• At our summer BASE Camp, Mr. Kristofer and his students showed off their motorized machines (and motorized animals!), made predictions about how they'd operate, and explained how they were made.

  We're so proud of our wonderful BASE Campers and their teachers for creating this fascinating and beautiful work of public art!



  This article doesn't just explain our summer mural project, it explains Fibonacci's Golden Ratio!



  UPDATE: The photos sets linked below have all been updated with new photos from week four of BASE Camp. Check them out! (7/5/11)

Our Vex Robotics kids (entering 6th-7th grade) custom designed, built and programmed robots to meet a variety of challenges in the form of different games. They built a variety of bots, working in teams, and put on a great show for parents, guardians, siblings and friends at the final competition on June 30!

The Fibonacci Mural group (entering 6th-8th grade) learned and mapped the golden ratio, and then designed and painted a mural under the "L" tracks between North and South Boulevards where Forest Ave. meets Home Ave. On June 13, they took a field trip to get inspiration from many fabulous murals in Humboldt Park. On June 24, they hosted a reception to celebrate their fine work.

Our Architecture Adventurers (students entering 4th-6th grade) designed buildings and made models, with help from professional architects and high school student TAs. They also worked with Google Sketch Up to create 3D virtual models.

The Dissection: Comparative Anatomy and Medical Illustration class (for kids entering 5th-8th grade) spent 2 weeks dissecting specimens from chicken wings to fetal pigs to learn about human anatomy. They spent a day working with Pat Thomas, Board Certified Medical Illustrator and Oak Parker who explained the how and why of her trade and helped students with their illustrations.

Geared Up: Engineering with LEGOs campers (entering 3rd-5th grade) took on new challenges every week -- from structures to wind power, animals to vehicles. They experimented with motors and remote controls, tested their machines and made them better and better.

In Art Start: Arts Adventure, our youngest campers (entering 1st-2nd grade) spent 2 weeks exploring many of the arts, including theater, story, dance, music, and painting.

They presented the fruits of their labor, including an elaborate set, costumes and books made mainly from found materials, to parents and friends on June 24.

In Geared Up/Architecture Adventure: Engineering with LEGOs (for students entering 1st-2nd grade), kids built the White House, Willis Tower, Wrigley Field, Seattle Space Needle, the Grand Canyon and more. They learned about geography, history and architecture while creating very impressive models!

The last week of camp included Art Start: Maps of the Imagination (for kids entering 3rd-5th grade). The kids used painting, drawing, and printmaking to create unique versions of their own mind-boggling mind maps.



 

Online registration will begin on February 14, but you can sign up by mail or fax now! We expect another sell-out year, so click here to download our flyer with camp descriptions & registration form.



 

A group of 30 middle schoolers spent 4 weeks of their summer building "bots"--robots, that is -- as part of OPEF's Vex Robotics BASE Camp. They worked in teams of 4 under the direction of Julian teachers Tim Walsh and Jason Morrell, assisted by high school student mentors. The kids designed and constructed bots that could pick up plastic rings placed around a course and deposit them on goal posts in a series of 2-minute competitions.

Team 4 built a robot that grabbed the rings, while Team 7's bot scooped up the rings like a shovel. Team 4's Emmet L. said they had lots of ideas that didn't work out. His teammate, Ceazar D. noted, "That's what happens when you build robots." Brothers Christopher and Christian M., also of Team 4, explained that they kept starting over, trying new designs, "to be able to max out on the rings."

Gabriel G. of Team 2 said he liked the building part of Vex. "I'm a very manual person, but I need to learn how to program," so he and Ethan R. were working on the programming commands--trying to slow down their robot's speed so it could navigate the course more accurately.

The camp ended with a competition on July 1. Seven teams competed in two separate alliances--red and blue. Their bots were built with shovels, grabbers, probes, and vacuums to pick up the rings. The game was very close, with the red teaming pulling ahead in the end, 146-131.

Both Julian and Brooks have Vex Robotics clubs during the school year, from October through February, open to all 6th-8th graders. This year teams that excel will have the opportunity to compete in other area competitions.

Mr. Walsh said he was "impressed by the level of sophistication that these new robotics engineers came up with." He also described a "skills contest" they conducted on the final day of the camp. Each team was allowed two minutes on the course by themselves. "The top scorer was 'The Clamp,' which scored 8 rings and claimed 5 posts in two minutes! Bravo!"

More about the course and how the competition works can be found here.



 

Legos, Legos, Legos! It may sound just like play time, but in OPEF's summer BASE Camp Geared Up program, kids used Legos to learn about basic machines and concepts of motion and force. Among the machines built were a working clock, a dogbot with a moving tail and jaw, and a walking bug. On this particular day, the kids were building windmills. Aaron C., a Hatch 3rd grader showed how a crank powered by a windmill can lift a block, demonstrating how wind is a viable power source in the real world.

Jackson G, a Whittier 4th grader, said "these are much cooler, bigger" than other things he has built with Legos. "I'm making things that actually work!" He built a car with a motor as well as an egg beater during the camp.

Holmes teachers John McCauley taught the first 2-week session of Geared Up along with Holmes colleague Colleen Cushing. He noted that the Geared Up program has "built-in differentiation"--an important component of District 97 classrooms. "It's great for all different levels. You can take off with it or just get the basics. Parents are telling me that their kids are coming home saying this is the best camp they've ever gone to."

Mr. McCauley explained that Geared Up is also a natural pre-course to get kids interested in Vex Robotics. Holmes 3rd grader Danny L. said, "I'm going to do Vex Robotics when I get to 6th grade. I like tweaking with stuff and doing electric stuff." He also visited the Vex Robotics BASE Camp program during his time at Geared Up.

Louisa V., a ninth-grader and teaching assistant for Geared Up, loves working with the younger kids. "I like building and it's cool to see them build and learn at the same time."



 

Oak Park grade schoolers created a city during OPEF's BASE Camp Architecture Adventure program this summer. The students researched famous world structures, created models of them, and then combined all their efforts into one urban plan, complete with rivers, dams, parks, and bridges. Gabe M., a fourth grader at Irving, built a boat dock and the Golden Gate Bridge and found that "you can make a lot of things out of just a little." His Mom, Veena R. says "He loves cities. He plans them on paper all the time, so this was perfect for him."

Adrienne McMullen, coordinator for Architecture Adventure and BASE Camp teacher, said the kids also got a chance to use Google's Sketch Up design program with the help of volunteer Mark Klancic. With this the kids "could see the kinds of [designing] stuff that is out there." The emphasis of this camp, however, was "figuring things out three-dimensionally and building with hands and not with computers." So, with cardboard, plastic, and a host of other materials, the kids set out to build their city.

Sophia Lyman, an Architecture Adventure BASE Camp teacher, said about 10 different professionals visited the camp. One volunteer was Ken Floody, a structural engineer with INGENII, LLC. He worked with Hatch fifth grader Nicholas B., on a working model of the Hoover Dam. Nicholas said "I loved this camp, but I'm sad I didn't sign up for the next session!" John Viise from Halvorson and Partners also showed the kids what structural engineers do and how they work with architects. The student-built models included the Lotus Temple in Delhi, Sydney Opera House, the Parthenon, Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, and Chicago's Aqua building.



 

It's been a fun and productive camp experience for more than 100 kids, ages 7-12, who attended OPEF's first BASE Camp this June. Check out our pictures of:

• Architecture Adventure students constructing a miniature city and exploring architectural landmarks from around the world. They worked with professional architects and their tools, creating a mind-blowing city using 3D models, and learning Google Sketch Up design.
• Vex Robotics students designing, building and programming remote-controlled robots from scratch, with help from their teachers and some high school mentors. They held 2 scrimmages to compete and test the various skills of the bots they created.
• Geared Up students designing and building machines that work (like a cart, a clock, a windmill and a robotic dog) using Lego Motorized Mechanisms kits. They faced numerous design challenges, tested their models and improved them as they went. The students also designed and created bridges to see how much weight they could support.

Congrats to all our impressive BASE Campers! It was great to work with you.

Photos are by Oak Park photographer Paul Goyette.

UPDATE: You can see more pictures from BASE Camp's Architecture Adventure program here. Thanks to Oak Park Photographer David Kindler.

 

BASE Camp, OPEF's summer program, is going on now! Read all about this year's BASE Camp staff here.

 

Looking for an unusual, exciting and educational summer experience? Sign up now for OPEF's BASE Camp! We're offering Geared Up (engineering with Legos), Vex Robotics and Architecture Adventure Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 11:30 am, with 2 sessions between June 7 - July 2. Click here to download the BASE Camp flyer with registration form.

 

Julian and Brooks middle school students: Experiment with architecture under the wings of a professional architect!

Architecture Adventure after school clubs are taking place:

At Julian: Tuesdays & Thursdays, February 5 through March 4 (no club on February 7), 3:30-5:00, and

At Brooks: Saturdays, April 12 and April 19, 9:00 am-3:00 pm

If you're a 6th, 7th and 8th grader who wonders why buildings look a certain way, or how the interior of a space might change your mood, this club is for you! You'll learn how to use hand drafting tools by designing a floor plan and elevations for a room of your own. You'll build a model with architectural materials and tools, and you'll work with professional architects and engineers.

There's a $10 materials fee; scholarships are available.

For more information, contact Adrienne McMullen at amcmullen2002@yahoo.com.

Also, watch for the School Daze catalog of summer programs that comes home in student backpacks. Current 6th and 7th graders interested in architecture: learn by working with professionals! Architecture Adventure summer camp will meet Tuesday, June 10 through Friday, June 20, 8:30-11:30 a.m.