The creation of functional robots had long been relegated to the laboratories of meticulous scientists, who spend years researching and developing new technologies, materials, and methods of robotic construction.
But at the Marion Natural History Museum on Saturday, July 14, kids ages 10 and up were invited to take part in a robot-building session, eschewing traditional materials and tools like steel and arc welders. Instead, these kids were using LEGO bricks from the robot-based Mindstorms collection, which incorporates light, audio, and motion sensors that respond to software that is programmable by the kids.
The summer program has been offered on and off over the years since the release of the robot sets in the early 2000s.
“We started this a long time ago, in 2003 or 2004,” said Elizabeth Leidhold, the museum’s director. She and her husband donated the first robot LEGO sets to the program in hopes of attracting kids to a more hands-on approach to science and discovery.
“We wanted to get kids into engineering. I think there’s a real interest out there,” she said.
While the interest of the children may be strong, the program has been offered sporadically due to a lack of volunteers to guide the children through their building process.
Sidney Batchelder, a summer resident of Mattapoisett, helped revive the program a few years ago, partly because of his history with LEGO robots and his current studies in robotics and engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
“As a kid, I had my own LEGO robotics kit and I loved it from the day I got it,” he said.
A few years ago, he found a write-up online about the robot program at the Marion Natural History Museum from 2005. He contacted Leidhold in hopes of taking part in the activity last year and returned to help out this summer.
“This is a good start, but it could get better,” he said, citing the need for more volunteers and newer used laptop computers from which to run the LEGO programming software.
Batchelder managed to talk one of his peers from WPI into joining him as a volunteer. Daniel Miller, who is originally from Nashua, New Hampshire, jumped at the opportunity to work with the kids and to build his own robotic creations.
“I got the kit when I was nine and I didn’t stop using it until college,” he said.
As a youth, he said he would attend a summer day camp that was focused on robotics, and later, went on to teach the program to the new generation of potential engineers. After college, he has plans to start a robotics company, but not before he has some more real-world experience under his belt.
“Before that happens, I’d like to work in the industry. After that, I’d like to get into teaching robotics and physics,” he said.
The program at the library is designed for no more than 10 kids, due to the amount of computers and volunteers available.
“In order to get enough one-on-one time for the kids, we have to keep it small,” Leidhold said.
On Saturday, three excited young robot builders showed up to try their hands at building free-style bots using only their imaginations as their blueprints.
“I like LEGO because you build something, then take it apart and add things to it. And if it breaks, you can fix it,” said 10-year-old Rochester resident Nathan Perry. Though Perry has never built robots before, he has loved playing with LEGO since he was three. At the museum, Perry was well on his way to constructing a car powered by a manual air pump.
“I’ve never done robots with LEGO before, but I have done robots,” said Roddy Kavanagh.
The 11-year-old Point Connett resident said he became interested in robots after his godfather showed him a tin can bot with specialized claws that could pick things up. He was working on creating a two-wheeled remote-controlled robot with a swinging drill bit on the front end.
The third participant, Matthew Bridge of Wareham, built a stationary, two-legged robot with one arm that wielded an axe, and another arm that flung a whip.
“I like how you can program them to do almost anything,” he said. Bridge, who plays with LEGO every day, said he plans to build robots when he grows up.
The summer LEGO robotics program at the Marion Natural History Museum will be offered all summer long. The next sessions will be held on July 21st, August 4th and August 18th, from 10:30 am to noon, at the museum. A one-time battery donation of $35.00 is required for the purchase of rechargeable batteries and charging stations. To register for the program please contact the museum at www.marionmuseum.org or call 508-748-2098.
By Eric Tripoli
