Category Archives: Legos

Legos (and Loppets) for LingYun

China, Legos

Last Fall when I visited the LingYun region of southern China, near the border with Vietnam, I was amazed to meet little children who hike for hours on mountains paths to reach rural schools. These same children then live in dorms … not getting home for weeks at a time. The living conditions for these children was saddening.

It was hard to imagine 10 to 12 year old children living away from home at such a young age. Thus, I'm expanding my dorm project to include Legos! These "dorm children" have nothing except what a small backpack holds. Wouldn't it be neat if in addition to rebuilding their dorm, we gave the kids some basic Legos to play with? … nothing fancy … just basic building kits. I've found Legos to be almost indestructible, and for children the fun of building is universal. When school and homework are completed for the day, these children could play with Legos! Last year I brought books to the school I rebuilt.  This year … Legos and Loppets!

If you have used Legos, please send them to me. I will take them to the children of LingYun. I have two requirements:

  • Legos should be in good condition
  • Legos should be basic construction pieces

You may either contact me by email for more instructions, or just send (or drop off) your Legos to:

  • Rich Hoeg (the Northstar Nerd!)
  • 3924 Wisconsin Avenue North
  • New Hope, Minnesota  55427

In addition, please consider a financial donation to help cover the cost of rebuilding the dorm. In the U.S.A., your donation is tax deductible via the China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF). Here is background concerning the dorm rebuilding project:

Finally, I've attached two photos and a map from my recent trip to JiaYou. One photo shows me with the JiaYou kids; the second photo are some LingYun children who need your help.
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JiayoukidsLingyunkidsGuangzhou_2 Legos_4   

Attend MIT for High School !

Legos

I’ve followed MIT’s Open CourseWare site for many years. You’ll find the courses indexed both my Google Co-Op search engines, and engineering learning wiki, but did you know MIT now has an site dedicated to high school engineering? This is a great addition.  Here are some of my favorite links from the new site:

However, if MIT is a "bit much" for your tastes, just download the Lego Digital Designer and have fun!
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Lego

Alice: Educational 3D Programming Software

Legos

One of my readers added a link yesterday to Alice on my Engineering Learning Wiki. On Alice.Org you will find this description of the free software, which also includes teaching tools:

"Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience."

Anyone may add links to the wiki. Alice is now linked via both of these wiki categories:

Please review the wiki. There is already a significant amount of content to be found, and better yet … be part of the community and help build the resource!
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Update on October 12th: One of my readers directs a criticism my way which is valid (see comments). Thus, effective immediately, I have removed the membership requirement to make changes to my Engineering Learning Wiki.  Please help me police any SPAM that appears.  Thank you.

Nerdcast – Take 08: Lego League

Legos

Right before the July 4th holiday I had the privilege to interview Fred Rose. This gentlemen has been instrumental in building the Lego robotics program, not just in Minnesota, but throughout the world (HighTechKids.Org). This Fall, as I start my sixth year as a Lego League coach, I thought it would be neat to learn more about Fred and his ideas. Here were my questions: (listen to the podcast to hear Fred’s answers!)

Nerdcast – Take 08: Interview with INSciTE Director: Fred Rose
(total running time: 15 minutes)

  1. I know that Minnesota is now one Lego League’s world leaders … with a global reach via INSciTE, how did you first become involved with Lego League?
  2. Now a two part question ….  As you know, I’m entering my sixth year as a Lego League coach. My boys will be high school seniors this Fall. In terms of having a high school level league, I understand that Minnesota is the exception to the rule, why is that? …… and …… What is your view on how we should be approaching the high school year’s of our children’s development?
  3. Both of us work for the same Fortune 500 company’s R&D Lab. Your job often takes you to Bangalore. A few years ago, you started up Lego League in India. What were some of the challenges with that effort?
  4. During Lego League competitions, I am constantly amazed at the innovative robot designs which the kids create … particularly the youngest children.  What can adult engineers learn from these children?
  5. What’s next for Fred Rose and INSciTE?
  6. Fred … thanks for your time today. One of the things I do on NerdCast is ask this question of all interviewees.  I warn you, only the geekiest, nerdiest answers are accepted! ….. Okay … What’s the nerdiest thing you’ve ever done in your life, and be specific!