Social Robots Lab

Grades: 1-12
Duration: 45 minutes

Available Times: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m. on school field trip operating days

*Start and end times may be flexible. Please speak to the Group Reservations specialist when booking.
Concepts/Skills: Circuits, debugging, algorithms, problem solving, computational thinking

 

Junior robotics engineers work as a team to "debug" a non-functioning robot and create an algorithm to to help others with troubleshooting. 

Lab Guide

Design a robust learning experience by selecting resources from this guide that fit the needs of your students. Reinforce learning before, after and even during your visit by diving deeper into some of the science and engineering concepts.

Lab-Related Activities

Lessons marked with an orange gear icon address engineering within the Next Generation Science Standards.

What's Happening to the Pikas?

Grades K-3

In this unplugged computational thinking activity, learners will work in teams to investigate how human actions have impacted pikas. 

Activity: 50 minutes

Program a Friend

Grades 1-8

Students team up in this unplugged coding activity to write a program that can instruct a partner to complete a simple task. 

Lesson: 30 minutes

Patterns of the Moon

Grades 3-5

Apply computational thinking skills to identify patterns in the cycle of the moon. Then modify a computer program in Scratch that shows how the moon appears throughout the lunar cycle. 

Lesson: 135 minutes

Get in the Game

Grades 3-8

Use computational thinking (decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms) to design your own board game!

Activity: 90 minutes

Redistricting Unplugged

Grades 9-12

Students apply computational thinking to the real-world problem of redistricting as they use abstraction to redraw a series of maps.

Lesson: 60 minutes

Vocabulary Choice Board

Grades K-12

Vocabulary activities to pair with one of our labs or other STEM activities.

Lesson: 20-30 min

Social Robots Lab

Exhibit Connections

Make connections between learning from the lab and the exhibits and programs found in The Tech Interactive’s galleries. For more exhibit connections, see the Lab Guide above.

  • Cyber Detectives

    The Cyber Detectives Exhibit focuses on internet safety, online activity, and data security. Participants work through interactive challenges and games to learn about different areas of internet security to become a cyber security expert. Students can utilize computational thinking elements like algorithms and pattern recognition to solve puzzles and test their internet safety skills. 

    Cyber Detectives

  • Creative Coding

    Students will program a list of instructions to get a ball through a maze. They can find creative solutions involving fans and music to create unique solutions. 

  • Cryptobabel

    Students will learn how to code and decode secret messages. They will look for patterns and follow an algorithm to solve the puzzle and check their work.

  • The Tech Studio

    Students will work as teams and use the Innovation Design Process to design and build unique devices to solve engineering problems. Teams tinker and iterate on their designs while exploring engineering and teamwork concepts. Activities change out* and cover a wide variety of STEM disciplines.


    *Check Today at The Tech to see which activities are available during your visit.

    The Tech Studio

Standards Connections

Next Generation Science Standards  
Grades Engineering Design
 Earth and Space Science Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts Science and Engineering Practices
1 K-2-ETS1-1 K-2-ETS1-3   ETS1.A ETS1.C Cause and Effect Systems and System Models 1, 4
2 K-2-ETS1-1
K-2-ETS1-3		   ETS1.A
ETS1.C		 Cause and Effect Systems and System Models 1, 4
3 3-5-ETS1-1 3-5-ETS1-2 3-5-ETS1-3   ETS1.A ETS1.B ETS1.C Cause and Effect Systems and System Models 1, 3, 6
4 3-5-ETS1-1 3-5-ETS1-2 3-5-ETS1-3 4-PS3-2 ETS1.A ETS1.B ETS1.C PS3.A Cause and Effect Systems and System Models 1, 3, 6
5 3-5-ETS1-1 3-5-ETS1-2 3-5-ETS1-3   ETS1.A ETS1.B ETS1.C Cause and Effect Systems and System Models 1, 3, 6
6-8 MS-ETS1-1 MS-ETS1-2 MS-ETS1-3   ETS1.A ETS1.B ETS1.C Cause and Effect Systems and System Models 1, 7
9-12 HS-ETS1-2   ETS1.C    

 

Computer Science Standards
Grades Computer Science Standard
K-2 1A-AP-11
3-5 1B-DA-07
6-8 2-CS-03
9-10 3A-CS-03