http://www.legoeducation.us/sharedimages/PDF/BoyScout17x11emailer.pdf
Since 1910, scouting has helped mold the future leaders
of this country by combining
educational activities and lifelong values with fun.
The Boy Scouts of America
believes and, through over a century of experience, understands
that helping youth
puts us on a path toward a more conscientious, responsible,
and productive society.
Robotics is an incredibly exciting and dynamic field
that has transformed into the
premier vehicle for hands-on delivery of science, technology,
engineering, and
math concepts. Through the creation of the Robotics merit
badge, the Boy Scouts
of America has joined with LEGO Education to give Scouts
access to the latest in
robotics technology, preparing them for life after school
and potential careers in the
various STEM industries.
New: Robotics Merit Badge!
Prepared. For Life.™
1. Safety. Do each of the following:
a. Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards
you may encounter while
working with robots and what you should do to anticipate,
mitigate and
prevent, and respond to these hazards. Describe the appropriate
safety gear
and clothing that should be used when working with robotics.
b. Discuss first aid and prevention for the types of
injuries that could occur
while participating in robotics activities and competitions,
including cuts, eye
injuries, and burns (chemical or heat).
2. Robotics industry. Discuss the following with
your counselor:
a. The kinds of things robots can do and how robots are
best used today.
b. The similarities and differences between remote-control
vehicles, telerobots, and
autonomous robots.
c. Three different methods robots can use to move themselves
other than wheels or
tracks. Describe when it would be appropriate to use
each method.
3. General knowledge.
Discuss with your counselor three of the five major fields
of robotics (human-robot
interface, mobility, manipulation, programming, sensors)
and their importance to
robotics development. Discuss either the three fields
as they relate to a single robot
system OR talk about each field in general. Find pictures
or at least video to aid
your discussion.
4. Design, build, program, test. Do each of the
following:
a. With your counselor’s approval, choose a task for
the robot or robotic
subsystem that you plan to build. Include sensor feedback
and
programming in the task. Document this information in
your robot
engineering notebook.
b. Design your robot. The robot design should use sensors
and
programming and have at least 2 degrees of freedom. Document
the
design in your robot engineering notebook using drawings
and a written
description.
c. Build a robot or robotic subsystem of your original
design to accomplish
the task you chose for requirement 4a.
d. Discuss with your counselor the programming options
available for your
robot. Then do either option 1 OR option 2.
(1) Option 1. Program your robot to perform the task
you chose for your
robot in 4a. Include a sample of your program’s source
code in your
robot engineering notebook.
(2) Option 2. Prepare a flowchart of the desired steps
to program your
robot for accomplishing the task in 4a. Include procedures
that
show activities based on sensor inputs. Place this in
your robot
engineering notebook.
e. Test your robot and record the results in your robot
engineering
notebook. Include suggestions on how you could improve
your robot, as
well as pictures or sketches of your finished robot.
5. Demonstrate. Do the following:
a. Demonstrate for your counselor the robot you built
in requirement 4.
b. Share your robot engineering notebook with your counselor.
Talk
about how well your robot accomplished the task, the
improvements
you would make in your next design, and what you learned
about the
design process.
6. Competitions. Do ONE of the following:
a. Attend a robotics competition and report to your counselor
what
you saw and learned about the competition and how teams
are
organized and managed.
b. Learn about three youth robotics competitions. Tell
your counselor
about these, including the type of competition, time
commitment,
age of the participants, and how many teams are involved.
7. Careers
Name three career opportunities in robotics. Pick one
and find out the
education, training, and experience required for this
profession. Discuss this
with your counselor, and explain why this profession
might interest you.
Prepared. For Life.™
Robotics Merit Badge Requirements
LEGO, the LEGO logo, DUPLO, and MINDSTORMS are trademarks
of the LEGO Group. ©2011 The LEGO Group.
On how to order your LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT,
please call 1-800-362-4308.
On merit badge requirements, please contact:
Scouts: http://boyslife.org/robotics
Merit Badge Counselors: http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/GuideforMeritBadgeCounselors
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http://www.legoeducation.us/about/item.aspx?art=4675
The Boy Scouts and Robotics: A Good Match As the
Boy Scouts announce their new Robotics Merit Badge this week, the obvious
question is: “What does robotics have to do with the Boy Scouts?” Well,
as both an Eagle Scout and a Mechanical Engineer turned educational roboticist,
I feel I’m uniquely qualified to provide some insight into this question.
First, let me start by providing some context. The current
generation of kids today is facing a significantly different and changing
world than previous generations have faced. For example, research shows
that the top 10 most highly regarded jobs in 2010 did not exist a decade
ago, and the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s students will
have more than 10 jobs during their careers. On top of this, new technologies
are being introduced into society at an exponential rate. This means that
in order for the students of today to be effectively prepared for the challenges
of tomorrow, they need a different set of skills – a set that can’t be
measured on any standardized test. Students must be prepared to use technologies
that don’t yet exist to solve problems that have not yet occurred. In short,
we need to prepare today’s generation to be fluent in technology, lifelong
learners (and not memorizers), strong communicators, creative problem solvers,
and effective leaders. A recent survey of companies revealed the following
top 10 qualities and skills sought by today’s employers:
Communication skills
Loyalty
Honesty
Problem-solving skills
Technical competency
Flexibility
Work ethic
Determination and persistence
Ability to work in harmony with coworkers
Eager and willing to learn new skills and add to their
knowledge base
I have seen firsthand how both the Boy Scouts and LEGO
Education are providing these skills to our future leaders through robotics
training. Scouting, one of the most impactful experiences I had growing
up, taught me many of the fundamental skills that have helped me succeed.
I learned the importance of setting goals and following through with commitments.
I learned how to work as part of a team and what it meant to be a leader.
I learned how to deal with tough challenges and how to work with others
to come up with unique solutions.
I used these skills, garnered from my informal education
from the Boy Scouts, throughout my life as I progressed through engineering
school and into industry. I have seen the importance that these 21st-century
skills have in all facets of life, but especially in the workplace. During
my academic development, however, I also saw firsthand some of the challenges
that currently exist in the present curriculum, especially in the areas
of math and science. Math and science classrooms often focus on rote memorization
with no context to the importance or application of what is being taught.
Key principles and concepts are presented but not wrapped in the richer
context of soft skills such as problem solving and teamwork that are equally
critical for students to learn. This, in fact, is where I see the naturally
strong connection between the Boy Scouts and educational robotics.
In my current position as Director of Innovation for LEGO
Education, I have the honor to be part of a team helping lead the transformation
of how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are taught in
schools. By using robotics to provide students with rich, hands-on, team-based
projects, students are able to learn core math and science concepts in
a meaningful context while also developing these critical 21st-century
skills of problem solving, teamwork, and communication.
Therefore, when the Boy Scouts decided to expand their
technical leadership opportunities, it was only natural for them to work
with LEGO Education to create a Robotics Merit Badge. Scouts can use LEGO
Education robotics kits to complete the new merit badge, helping to ensure
the scouts are furthering their critical preparation for the challenges
ahead.
www.LEGOeducation.us/BoyScouts
http://www.legoeducation.us/about/item.aspx?art=4668