“Really excited to see what’s going on a Twin Science Workshop. The children are all buzzing. They are all really excited for what they are doing. I think this is the future.”
Magoo Giles (Founder & Principal, Knightsbridge School)
In January 2020 our Twin Science team organized a workshop in cooperation with Knightsbridge School in London. The workshop itself was centered around exploring various fields of STEAM. With the students at Knightsbridge School, we designed a number of robotics projects with Twins Science Kits and LEGO® building blocks to learn how autonomous systems, namely self-driving cars, work.
What did we do?
Our team at Twin held a workshop with the brilliant students at the Knightsbridge School. There we met kids eager and excited play with our Science Kits and learn about robotics. The kids were assigned the task of designing and building an autonomous car. At first, the students were a little intimidated to be asked to do something like this, however, with some encouragement from our team and the prospects of accomplishing something so interesting, the students dove into the task at hand – and, well, they were amazed at what a little bit of critical and imaginative thinking could accomplish in just a handful of hours.
The Twin Autonomous Car Kit is the ideal way to introduce such interesting, yet complex concepts and technologies involved in the making of autonomous vehicles. Our team distributed the Autonomous Car Kit to groups of 4-5 students so they could review the informational sources and discover how the modules functioned and interacted with the LEGO® blocks contained inside the kit – this part really focusing on the science behind how our modules functioned. With the help of the kit’s instructions, a bit of creative thinking, and teamwork the kids were able to build the car’s structure. Each group showed just how many different ways the kit could be used, and after a number of trial and errors, each team was able to produce a fully functioning self-driving vehicle.
But it didn’t end there! After understanding the science behind creating the autonomous vehicles, it was time for the students to design and personalize their cars and “test drive” with their friends! The groups were encouraged to incorporate their own creative visions when designing their cars with LEGO® blocks (which are compatible with Twin Science Kits) and other materials! By the end of the workshop, the space was filled with excited students watching their home-made autonomous vehicles maneuvering around obstacles on their own!
What did we learn?
Besides the technology and the science behind the self-driving cars, kids developed an appreciation for teamwork. Though the objective of the workshop was to create a working autonomous vehicle, the underlying goal was to show the value of teamwork in achieving such feats. With some guidance and supervision from our team, the groups of students were cultivating a culture of open communication, cooperation and creativity – assembling their collective knowledge and proposing unique ideas all in order to complete the task. We saw that within each group, members were actively problem solving and taking the initiative to make the car. The students were beginning to learn that the greatest sources of knowledge were coming from themselves and from each other, in addition to the material provided in the kit. Our Twin team used this as a lesson to point out something important – that most often than not, the biggest and most important scientific discoveries in history were the result of teamwork and collaboration.
Another important takeaway for the students was asking them to reflect about their work and what they learned. We posed questions on how the students could improve their approach to challenges in the future; what kind mindset does it takes to tackle on tough problems? A big part of this discussion was discovering together that the challenges we face are actually opportunities to learn and grow. It was encouraging to see the students that had previously carried self-doubt within them gained confidence in themselves and their capabilities. By the end of the workshop, we had talked out the self-imposed barriers that the students were carrying with them before this event. After all, with Twin’s Autonomous Car Kit, the student did indeed discover how signals, DC motors and ultrasonic sensors worked by coding and learning the basics of programming. What an accomplishment!
“Coming to Twin Science workshop children are really engaged. They are really enjoying their new STEM activity.”
Katie Donkor (Head of Digital Learning, Knightsbridge School)
We would like to thank the Knightsbridge School for their partnership and contributing to our goal of spreading the joys of science. The Twin Science team thoroughly enjoyed working with the students and faculty and we hope to see them soon again!
Our Twin team strives to make every learning opportunity a success story! Our aim is to equip the coming generations with the right skills and values so they can excel and build a better future for themselves and the world. We accomplish this through our STEAM Kits and our Twing mobile app, along with STEM QUEST shows, and education workshops.
If you wish to have a workshop with us at your organization, please send us an email at: [email protected]
