From the latest cars, motorcycles, roller skates, skateboards and trains we’ve got ground travel covered. The three dimensional world of flight offers a universe of possibilities. What kind of flying objects can we design that mimic behaviors or animals or use attributes from nature to innovate on flight. How can we look beyond airplane and helicopter flight to create flying objects that mimic the gliding abilities of winged animals, insects, and birds that re-connect us with the natural world. How about a floating messenger seed from a thousand year old mystical tree that can whisp into the air, travel a distance, and share messages across a network of trees? How about a bee-like flying creature that pollinates our window basket with local wildflowers. What about a hovering manta ray that moves stealthily above ground, recording sounds and gathering information about alien life on Mars? And what about a pair of wings that can be worn by humans to give them flying powers to see from a bird’s perspective!

In this studio, students will be constructing a bio-mimetic flying object. You’ll learn about all the components that make flying objects go zoom: lightweight bodies, motors, batteries, wings, propellers, radio signals, and robotic intelligence. Students will ride the waves of radio frequency and modulation and develop an understanding of flight, design and engineering. Students will experience the hands-on joy of designing, prototyping, soldering, building circuits, and assembling their components to bring to life their nature influenced creation which will zoom away in their (fantastical) world!

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Focus Skills/Subjects/Technologies:

   Design

   Physics (Electricity, Magnetism)

   Engineering

   Programming

   Electronics

   Robotics (Arduino)

   Sensors & Actuators

   Digital Fabrication (Laser-cutting, 3d Printing)

   3d Modeling

Prerequisites:

• Enrolling students must be between the ages of 11 to 13 (or grades 6-8)

REGISTER HERE!