Disaster+Blaster+Week+03

Week 3: September 19, 2013

Game: We used the small individual bags of Legos, with most of the accessory items removed, to see what they could build. This was an idea inspired by Sean Kenney's __Cool Creations in 35 Pieces__. They didn't have 35 pieces, and they didn't have the recommended 35 pieces, but they did have identical pieces.

Team Business Meeting: Avery made a suggestion for a logo, which is now posted in our meeting area at the Forge for consideration. The kids worked to put together the world "cooperation", where each letter stood for a characteristic of teamwork. Led by Grace We also began a list of of team practices, tools by which we could achieve the core values. I asked the members practices that we could install so that we could work cooperatively together. Their suggestions included: 1) Include everyone, 2) compromise, 3) Raise your hand 4) Inspire and share, 5) Have fun. These are practices that I expect them to adhere to during meetings. We will revisit these again to reevaluate and add to.

Project: Members presented information they found during their research of natural disasters.

Game: Duct tape minefield. They had to navigate each other through a minefield of duct tape "bombs".

Build: I demonstrated another lever, using a pen, a ruler, and a stack of books. We tried moving the fulcrum to different positions and see how that affected the system. We discussed the advantages of simple machines. We also spent some time building the catapult that is in one of the Lego instruction books that comes with the Lego kit.

Other notes: We had all six of our members present. I would like to revisit the minefield game again, letting them take turns giving instructions. It would lends itself to many variations.