2012 SABRE Games at CES Science Fair
On Wednesday, February 15, 2012, starting at 5:30 pm, we’ll run the SABRE games in conjunction with the CES science fair, at the Cardston Elementary School.
This year, we’ll run the following events:
- Maze Solving
- Obstacle Course
- Tug Of War
We will have medals for the winners. Participation in the event is free, but please let me know if you think you’ll be attending. Consider this event a warm-up for Robofest in Mountain View on March 31 (which is a more serious event, and requires advance planning!)
The Events
Maze Solving
The maze is built out of reconfigurable tiles, like these (except that they are a slightly different size; 12” x 12” instead of 30cm x 30 cm). Note that the walls are roughly 6 inches tall. An explorer bot’s ultrasonic sensor is too high up to see them.
Obstacle Course
The obstacle course will be done as in years gone by. Build a robot to go down a straight corridor, going over obstacles like pencils, chocolate bars, ramps, and books. The robot that goes the furthest the faster wins. Read more details and see the tips.
Tug Of War
Two robots are tied together with a string and each tries to pull its opponent over the center line. We’ll be using these rules, and here is a great video tutorial, and some great ideas.
I hope to see you there!
Upcoming Robotics Events - 2011/2012
Here are some events that I believe are coming up during the 2010/2011 school year.
- November 28 – Cardston and District Community Awareness Night at the Cardston Civic Centre. Roboticists, please bring robots to show off!
- Friday in late Nov/early Dec – Western Canada RoboCup Junior Games in Kelowna, BC. (sign up.)
- January – First Lego League in Edmonton. September is the time to sign up.
- February – 2012 SABRE Games in conjunction with Cardston Elementary School Science Fair.
- March 31, Robofest in Mountain View . Sign up now!
- May – Western Canadian Robotics Society Annual Robot Games in Calgary.
If you are aware of others, please contact me.
Robotics Courses for 2011/2012
SABRE will be offering the following course twice this year:
Introductory Programming and Robotics
| Purpose: | Learn to program in Scratch and build and program Lego Mindstorms robots. |
| Ages: | 10 and up1 |
| Time: | Two hours a week on Friday afternoons for eight weeks. |
| Cost: | $495; includes LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit |
| Notes: | Parents are encouraged to attend. Your being there makes a difference! |
Fall 2011, In Raymond
| Starting Date: | October 14 |
| Registration Deadline: | September 23 |
Winter 2012, In Cardston
| Starting Date: | January 13 |
| Registration Deadline: |
Each course is limited to eight pupils. If you are interested, please contact Clinton Blackmore.
Do take a look at the events coming up in this area, and at the books in the library.
1 Younger pupils may be admitted; please talk to instructor.