Uncategorized

LEGO Inspiration: 42069 Extreme Adventure

amomentmaker1 Comment

DSCF6315

In LEGO Inspiration today, we will show you what we found interesting in LEGO Technic set number 42069 Extreme Adventure.

This is one of the larger LEGO Technic sets, but with its size comes lots of cool gearing and features. We have found many neat and inspiring things about this set. We named ours “Purple Snow” because of its color and because it was shown on the box with a snow background. We sometimes have our pom-pom owls that we made drive in it because they are the perfect size. We have had lots of fun with this set!

Continue reading →

LEGO Inspiration: 42060 Roadwork Crew, Part 1

amomentmaker1 Comment

DSCF6142

In LEGO Inspiration today, we will show you what we found interesting in LEGO Technic set number 42060 Roadwork Crew. This is one of the smaller Technic sets available, but it has some great functionality that we can carry over into EV3 robot building.

DSCF6144

LEGO Technic set number 42060 Roadwork Crew has 2 models included, so we decided to split this into 2 articles to make it easier. Today we will be talking about the tracked digger.

This tracked digger part of LEGO Technic set number 42060 Roadwork Crew that we will talk about today, we named Scoop. She is a very close friend with Mr. Cherry Picker that we discussed the 42031 Cherry Picker article. Although different pieces are used, there are a lot of similarities in how they work.

Continue reading →

EV3 Programming: Motor Blocks

amomentmaker1 Comment

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 3.35.18 PM

We have had a lot of fun using our EV3 bricks for a lot of things, such as programming them to play our favorite songs and accomplishing fun tasks we make on our own, but by far the most fun part of EV3 comes when you add motors into the mix! Motors allow you to build a robot that can drive around or build a machine with moving arms or rotating turn tables. Motors are obviously especially important in EV3 for competing in FIRST LEGO League (FLL). How else can you move around the field and accomplish all those cool missions?

In this article, we will teach you about the parameters on a motor block, different types of motor blocks, and the basic types of turns.

Continue reading →

LEGO Inspiration: 70008 Gorzan’s Gorilla Striker

amomentmaker1 Comment

DSCF5563

In LEGO Inspiration today, we will show you what we found interesting in LEGO Legends of Chima set number 70008 Gorzan’s Gorilla Striker.

This is a discontinued LEGO set from The LEGO Legends of Chima series. In Chima, Gorzan and other members of the gorilla tribe use these mechs to swing from vines and walk/run to cover more distance than they could with just their minifigure bodies. The mech’s arms move to help grab the vines, defend themselves, pick up people and things, and make hand gestures, like when they need to give directions to the rhinos.

This set offers a lot of movement with LEGO joints for fingers,  hips, and knees, as well as several missile sites. However, for the purpose of helping EV3 builders and FLL teams, we are going to focus on the gearing that allows the arms to move up and down by turning a knob in the mech’s back.

Continue reading →

“Into Orbit” Kick-off Celebration for ACES-East

amomentmaker

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

On Saturday, September 5, our local FIRST LEGO League (FLL) organization hosted a Kick-off Celebration for the Into Orbit 2018-2019 season at Space Center Houston. This is Houston’s first year to be part of ACES for FIRST in Texas. Some of the team was sick and couldn’t come, but luckily one of team mascots was able to make it — BURN-E our FIRST bear!

Continue reading →

Remember to Have Fun with Your EV3!

amomentmaker

DSCF5777

One of the FLL core values is about having fun and enjoying what we do. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in using LEGO EV3 for FIRST LEGO League, to learn about simple and complex machines, or for other schoolwork. FIRST encourages us to have fun while we do our work. But, it is good to remember to make sure you take some time to have a break and to just have fun, too! When you have time, you should make up your own missions and challenges! By making your own challenges you can learn, have fun, and take a break from all the stressing work of robotics.

Continue reading →