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BrickieVentures
HHS ENGINEERING LIGHTSHOW PROJECT:
LIGHTSHOW PROJECT: Phase 1
Students in the Principles of Engineering classes at HHS are involved in a hands-on project which will allow them to experience the many aspects of building a complete computer-controlled light system from the ground up. A key part of the project is to give students a chance to apply what they are learning in class to a real-life project. They will work with students from other schools and our own Computer Science 1 students, using Linux-based Python coding to program the micro-computers that run the units.
The final product will result in a set of multiple portable units which will be used to run light displays at our district buildings. At HHS, they will debut to run a holiday light show synced to music at the front of the school. Visitors will be able to drive up, tune their radios to the preset channel, and enjoy the show. Other applications could include lightshows integrated into band and choir concerts, or athletic events.
The material for the control units was obtained through a grant from Hobart Community Foundation and Toshiba America. Target date for completion is mid-December. Stay tuned for updates on the project!
LIGHTSHOW PROJECT: Phase 2
Students worked at multiple stations, each with different tasks to accomplish that are part of the project. They continued wiring prep and attaching plugs, and began adding components to the light boxes. Mr. Bennett explained the details (and terminology!) behind this phase of the project. Tasks include attaching the terminal block (which connects the 8 output cables to the relay) and adding the raspberry pi (attached at the bottom of the box, connected to the relay board via a T-cobbler and jumper wires) and the cobbler which distinguishes which jumper wires go where. The raspberry pi is the “brain” of the unit. The program run through this computer will control the lights and sync them to the music we select to play. The blue circuit board relay must also be installed; this sends the signals to each of the 8 output cables that will connect to the lights. The blue power outlet brings power in to the whole system.
Mr. Bennett noted that in addition to the hands-on skills and knowledge needed for the project, the students are acquiring some practical life skills in the process, learning to replace plugs on the ends of cords, how to wire an outlet, and also how parts of a circuit breaker box work.Next steps will involve connecting all the systems together and coding the micro-computer to do what we want it to do. We will also be designing the light displays for all of our schools.
LIGHTSHOW PROJECT: Phase 3
As part of the next phase of the Light Box project, engineering students created a display for the school board meeting. They had to come up with a design, determine how it would look and function, get it into place then complete a test run using their software’s default program. At the board meeting, Ares Marks represented the class and spoke about the project after running the demonstration.Continuing the final “indoor” part of the project, students laid out the design of the outdoor displays, selected the music, coded the light colors to go with the music, set up a remote access system, and created a playlist in a format that the computer recognized. The work then moved outdoors, where everyone worked to build the structures needed, then to string the lights according to the design.
LIGHTSHOW PROJECT: Final!
The Holiday Lightshows are ready to go! Displays at all SCOH schools are up and running! Under the direction of Mr. Bennett, the HHS Engineering class, with an assist from Mrs. Kistler and her students at HMS, has worked hard to get the structures and lights in place, as well as coding the lights to sync to the music in this final phase. Community members were invited to stop by their neighborhood schools to enjoy the show. It was as simple as pulling up in front of school, tuning in to 87.9 FM and enjoying the festivities! The project was a great success and received many favorable comments from the community! Special thanks to Hobart Community Foundation, Hobart Ace Hardware and Toshiba America for their support in this project, and to all students & teachers who were involved with this project!SCOH SPACE CADETS ROBOTiCS TEAM:
SCOH SPACE CADETS ROBOTiCS TEAM
The SCOH Space Cadets FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics team of HHS and HMS students were presenters at a recent forum at Purdue University. The team consists of HHS students Emma Duggan, Jerry Fuller, Ben Molchan, Olivia Garcia and CJ Rodrick. They were introduced to the FIRST program through participation in a FIRST Lego League at Hobart Middle School. The team brought their current bot and discussed applications of 3-D printing and CAD software with attendees. The team enjoyed the day-long forum, and plans to continue improving their bot. Congrats to the Space Cadets!
In the words of captain Emma Duggan and the team:
"The FIRST program develops research and robotics programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, as well as personal ones. As a FIRST Tech Challenge team, we follow CORE VALUES, rules which discuss Gracious Professionalism, inclusion, honesty, integrity, discovery, innovation, impact, teamwork, and having fun throughout the process.
Robot details: The piece of equipment in our picture is our robot; it is required to fit inside of an 18×18×18 box and be within 42 pounds. The bot is supposed to accomplish tasks in a 2 minute and 30 second game which follows a certain theme (this year was Rover Ruckus: to create a bot which attaches to a 'lander' and place pieces of 'gold and silver minerals' inside of it).
Purdue forum: The Purdue event provided an opportunity to learn about programming, mechanisms of the bot, a business and sustainability plan, how to maintain a proper engineering notebook, outreach and its importance, and even had a field to test out robots. Our team did a presentation in the morning on 3-Dimensional Printing and CAD software to a crowd of 55 of our fellow FIRST participants. Our builders Jerry Fuller and CJ Rodrick utilize their certification from Autodesk Inventor to teach others about 3D printing and CAD."
Congratulations on a great job! We hope to see more of the Space Cadets and their projects soon!
FTC Robotics Championship: Jan 5 2019
More Great News: At the FTC League Championship at IU Kokomo, the SCOH Robotics team won 1st Place Alliance winner for robot play, 2nd runner up for the Motivate Award, the Promote Award for their video, and the INSPIRE Award, the highest award available in a FIRST competition. The team will be heading to the state championship in March, and is looking forward to competing with other robotics teams! Congrats to the team, and good luck at State competition!BRAIN DISSECTION:
The AP and Honors Psychology Classes participated in a unique lab dissecting sheep brains, thanks to grants received by the Hobart Education Foundation. Over the past few years, the psychology class has acquired the tools needed for the brain dissections as well as the lab material used in this project. The goal of this project was to help the students understand and experience a hands-on approach in learning about the similarities and differences in mammalian brains. At the end of the project, the students were able to identify various regions in the brains and their functions, as well as point out some of the vast differences that are observable between humans and sheep.