Trash Chomper
Build a garbage eating monster!
SESSION ROLES:
🐙 = Site Coordinator
🦉= Mentor
A Note for Site Coordinators and Mentors
This session guide provides a detailed outline for the Trash Chomper activity, but feel free to improvise or put your own spin to things. If you have an idea for a challenge or prompt that will get students excited, go for it! If something is not working well, change course and experiment another path forward.
If you do change things up, we would love to hear what has been successful for you!
Session Overview
Students will use the littleBits Invention Cycle, and an understanding of the basics of circuitry, sensors, and and motion, to construct an automatic Trash Chomper. Students will then improve upon or modify the functionality of their Trash Chompers to create an invention for the house of the future. Conclude the activity by having students act out a future scenario on which their invention will be used.
Session Details
Difficulty:
Intermediate
Duration:
2 hours
Subjects:
Engineering
Design
Science
Prerequisite Knowledge:
Supplies
Bits + Accessories:
STEM Inventor Kit
Device:
Mentors will need to bring a connected device (phone, tablet, or computer) to access instructional videos
Other Materials:
Extra 9V batteries
Tape
Nice to Have:
Colored Paper
Markers
Scissors
Description
Theme: Smart Objects
Objectives: By the end of the session, students will be able to:
-
Create and test a circuit containing a power source, inputs and outputs
-
Construct a prototype of a trash chomping robot using littleBits
-
Test their prototypes and make improvements
-
Demonstrate their ability to Create, Play, Remix and Share an invention through the littleBits Invention Cycle
-
Summarize their process and Share the resulting invention by acting out skits with their prototype in use
Resources
Inspirational Links:
littleBits Powered Recycling Bin
Helpful Links:
Set Up
🐙SITE COORDINATORS:
-
Make sure all the supplies for this session are prepped and ready to go.
-
We suggest handing out the kits during the CREATE phase, after the introduction.
🦉MENTORS:
-
Make sure to bring a charged connected device (phone, iPad, or computer) to access instructional videos during the session.
Meet Up
5 MIN
🐙SITE COORDINATORS:
Take attendance and make sure mentors are paired off.
🦉MENTORS:
Take turns asking each other questions. Example prompts:
-
What's one thing you created or invented this week?
Introduce
10 MIN
🐙SITE COORDINATORS INTRODUCE THE SESSION
Today you’ll be using your expertise to design an invention for the home of the future. We will start out by making a trash chomping monster that turns cleaning up into a game. When you are building the Trash Chomper today, think about other objects in your home that you could supercharge with Bits. Ex: a chair, a mailbox, or a piggy bank!
Discuss: You spend a lot of time in your home. How could you make it even better? Think of something that could be made easier, more exciting, or that you wish existed. Have students share ideas aloud with the group.
Before jumping into the challenge, provide a quick review of the Invention Cycle framework. Ask students to share lessons learned about Bits, the invention process and things they enjoyed or struggled with from previous challenges.
Inspire
10 MIN
🦉MENTORS REVIEW POSTCARD SERIES AND INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO
Career Exploration
As a warm up activity, mentors will explore three women in STEM who have made significant contributions to their field. Please take a few minutes to review the bios provided in the postcards below and brainstorm with your mentee what contributions she would make as a leader in this field fifteen years from now. Ask your mentee(s) the following:
- Can you see yourself in her job?
- Are you interested to learn more about her job?
- What inspires you about this role model?
(Expand on some phrases or words that may be difficult to understand.)
*The purpose of the postcards are meant to provide girls with the career endeavors and examples of STEM positions of successful women in STEM to inspire them and explore different types of careers in STEM.*
Nov 4, 2019
Nov 4, 2019
Nov 5, 2019
Download Women in STEM postcards here:
SALLY RIDE JANE X. LUU VIRGINIA HOLSINGER
INSPIRATIONAL INVENTION VIDEOS OF THE DAY
Turn boring objects like trashcans into smart objects. These trashcans are interactive and help the environment by making it fun to pick up trash and recycle.
A trash can that makes a sound when you throw something away keeps people from littering
A littleBits-Powered Recycling Bin
A smart recycling bin that turns recycling into a game
Create
40 MIN
🦉MENTORS:
Facilitate the CREATE, PLAY, & REMIX activities with mentees.
🐙SITE COORDINATORS:
During the CREATE, PLAY, & REMIX activities, float around the room and observe/help out where needed. You will also monitor the time and announce when the group should come together to share.
The Trash Chomper
Build a garbage eating monster.
CREATE: Watch following video playlist for build instructions:
-
Robots
-
Create Trash Chomper
Play
10 MIN
PLAY: Try out your invention!
-
Once the prototypes have been constructed, students should test their inventions to make sure they work and to see what they can learn about them. Keep in mind that the inventions likely won’t work perfectly the first time; failure is part of the process.
-
In small groups, discuss/explain how the circuit works, including the mechanical arm. A clear understanding of how it works will help them explore and experiment during the Remix phase.
Remix
20 MIN
Now it’s time to put Engineering Design skills to work to improve or modify their Trash Chomper. How can you use Bits and craft materials to improve or customize your invention? If there is time, try out more than one remix idea! Here are some ideas:
-
Try using your Trash Chomper in different places/scenarios.
-
Can it be used for something other than trash? Can it be a secret compartment? A piggy bank? A pet food dispenser? What other ideas do you have?
-
What happens if you turn it upside down or on its side? Does that change the functionality?
-
-
Experiment with Bits
-
Try swapping the Sound Sensor Bit in place of the Proximity Sensor Bit. How does this change the function of your Trash Chomper? Hint: Try clapping to make it chomp.
-
Try adding other Bits. What happens if you add a Long LED Bit or a Buzzer Bit? How could this improve your invention?
-
-
Add Materials
-
How can materials transform your Trash Chomper into something else like a mailbox or a pet feeder? Use stickers or add other craft materials and get creative here.
-
Give your invention some personality - does it look like an animal? A plant?
-
Add a sign or message
-
Pair up students so they each have someone else to test out their prototype. Test the invention after a few improvements have been made. Have students ask the person what their favorite features are and what suggestions they have to make it better.
Ask students to explain their remix choices and the resulting change in functionality and outcomes.
Share
15 MIN
🐙SITE COORDINATORS:
-
Gather together to share their remixed inventions
-
Students may want to give their invention a name and act out a short skit of a scenario in which their product can be used. Sharing and receiving feedback on the invention is a great way to fuel another round of remixing, playing and sharing.
-
Snap photos of the final invention!
Give a preview of the next session:
-
Next week, we will learn about inventions that help people and build a robotic arm.
Reflect
5 MIN
🦉MENTORS:
Reflect with your mentee: “What is one new thing that you learned during this challenge?”
Close
10 MIN
Wrap Up
🦉MENTORS:
-
Make sure to power off the Power Bit and disconnect the battery.
-
Deconstruct inventions: Make sure to take pictures of what they have made.
-
Clean up: Make sure to have all the parts shown on the side of the box and put them away in the kit.
🐙SITE COORDINATORS:
-
Store kits away for next time