5th-Graders Grinding on Robot Project

Building robots that can remove hazardous waste may sound like a task for experienced, professional engineers. But fifth-grade students at Bell Elementary School are ready for the task.

The students have already designed the robots and are currently building the chassis. In a matter of weeks the robots will be ready for their dangerous mission.

“It’s fun to build a robot because it’s a little like building with Lego,” said Hunter Adornato, a student in Stephanie Pietrosanti’s 5th-grade class.

“It’s a little stressful because there are a lot of little parts,” said fifth-grader Belle Indelicato.

The build is part of the Project Lead The Way program. This year marks the first time teachers will use PLTW in Kindergarten through fifth grade to launch the engineering pipeline in the Windsor Central School District. Middle and High School students have already been taking part in PLTW’s engineering curriculum.

“It’s all about teaching the engineering process,” said Eileen Mulcahy, who is teaching the PLTW program. “The toughest part is that there are no directions. They have to create a plan on how to build the robot and then build the part.”

While the fifth-grade students are studying robotics, fourth-graders are spending the year talking about energy and energy engineering. It’s all in an effort to incorporate real-world science into the curriculum.

“They’re problem solving as part of a team. The design, testing, evaluation and data sharing is all incorporated throughout Project Lead the Way,” said Mulcahy.

The students should be ready to test their robots by the end of April.





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