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Boyd's Brainiacs is a group that meets monthly during lunches to learn about new innovative technology and try various activities. The students learned a variety of approaches to coding, 3D printing, video creation and more. The lunch sessions always went by extremely fast. See some of the activities from each month below.
November: Marble Run Engineering
On National STEAM Day, students learned how to construct marble runs and basic principles of engineering.
Students work together to build the marble run. It has a been a hit with students ever since!
20231109_130648.mp4In this video Mylz completes a complex series for the marble run.
December: Sphero Painting with Code for Hour of Code Week
During the Hour of Code Week, the Brainiacs learned how to code sphero robots. For many this was their first experience coding. They took to the process getting the spheros coded or driven as they worked together to create an abstract piece of art.
Students learn how to code and drive the sphero robots as they build up their painting by working together.
Students learn how to drive the robots.
The finished pieces after the 3 sessions of painters. You can see the path that the robots took in some portions of the painting.
The finished pieces were put on display in the front office.
January: Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
In January the group learned about the differences with virtual reality and augmented reality. They then tried out VR goggles, 360 degree videos and models, Merge cubes and augmented drawings.
Students enjoyed the VR goggles the most!
Roghan tries out the Merge Cube to explore the solar system.
Students work together to make the Merge Cube work properly.
These students explore dinosaurs, underwater adventures and rollercoasters with the VR and Google Cardboards.
February: Career Connections Workshop on Green Screen Videos
Ryan Harris, a local filmmaker and HCPS graduate, conducted a workshop with students regarding his career and the principals of green screen. See more about the event by following the link here.
Ryan shares his story about how he became a filmmaker.
Students play with green screen effects to put their faces onto other people's bodies.
You can make easy backgrounds with green screen effects!
Ryan shows students the importance of lighting as they experiment with the video effects.
Ha'Zell and Royal interview Ryan about his career for our new podcast series, "In the Middle of It All @ Rolfe."
The event even made it onto the county social media pages!
March: Drawing with Code using Ozobots
In March the students used ozobot robots to learn how to draw code using color. The bots were programed to do special tricks as they followed the path drawn by the students.
April: Glow- All About Luminescence
Gel highlighters glow really well with the blacklight.
Students experiment with glowing drawings.
The group used glow in the dark tapes to create collaborative wall art.
Students test out light painting with iPads.
Student photographs from the experience.
Student photographs from the experience.
May: Cookies and the Science Behind the Treat
Boyd's Brainiacs finished the year out with an activity for loyal attendees. They learned about the process of making cookies and the jobs at factories. Rolfe is down the street from Nabisco and some students knew of workers there. After the quick lesson they then decorated their own cookies to enjoy.
Our two top Brainiacs who have attended every session this year!
Roghan P., 8th grade
He also participated in every activity last year too!
Kenneth M., 6th grade
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