By Ruth Thomas
Webster's Dictionary defines a maze as a "complex system of passages or paths between walls, hedges or obstacles." Mazes are designed to allow someone or something to problem-solve methods of puzzling through multiple twists and turns. "Maze construction" uses the principles of the engineering process.
In the video above, kindergarteners become pinball wizards.
For this STEM+ challenge, students create a paper plate maze game inspired by pinball machines, using just a few common craft supplies and a fluff ball. The goal is to construct paper loops that allow one fluff ball to successfully move from start to finish. As usual, the ingenious minds of 5-year-olds take the mazes to the next level by adding additional balls that travel through the complicated structures.
Watch fifth graders program paths for bees.
Our student programmers design computer codes using basic maze navigation: moving forward, turning left or right, looping and adding additional specifications. Fifth graders recognize that there are many ways to solve problems. At last, the virtual flower-seeking bees buzz into buds and blooms.
Lower School faculty construct hexbug mazes.
In this example, our teachers are students, too! During a recent department meeting, Dr. Laura Bottomley, the director of the NCSU Engineering Place, initiated an engineering challenge for our Lower School instructors. The task was to build a maze for battery-operated creatures, called hexbugs, to successfully maneuver within. Each hexbug labyrinth included the following characteristics: a hill, an obstacle, a 90-degree angle, a dead end, and a "sound change." Ready, set, go! The novice teacher-engineers had 10 minutes to imagine, plan, create, test and improve their creations. Success was measured by the hexbug's ability to travel through the maze unassisted by the builders.
Our instructors immediately began using their new learning with Lower School students.
Kindergarteners, first graders and fifth graders combined a variety of materials to meet the outlined parameters of the mazes. "Bugs" were everywhere. Resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability resonated through the Lower School Makerspace!
Fifth graders add to sophisticated labyrinths.
Innovation thrived with the fifth graders. The students used "littleBits," or electronic building blocks, to increase the sophistication of the tricky pathways. Imagine the possibilities! Our motivated collaborators continued to build and rebuild, improving their designs with every opportunity. You can see how our fifth grade engineers explained their strategic creations with pre-K students in this great video snippet.
In Lower School, we are learning by doing. We are learning that the "e" for engineering in STEM+ is "amazing." Through these hands-on, minds-on opportunities, each student experiences an engineer's visionary power. How many world-changers are being inspired by battery-operated bugs, wooden strips, electronic blocks and masking tape?
