From STEM Education to STEAM Education

Happy Spring Everyone!

I know we have mentioned art in the past, but we do not want to overshadow art with our emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM, Education.  I personally like adding the A for Art and making it STEAM Education!

This is a topic that has been historically contentious.  Some scientists feel that science has a specific and unrelated purpose as some artists feel the same about art.

Everyone's favorite Science Guy, Bill Nye, agrees that art is just as necessary as science and that science must not come at the exclusion of art (Hey, 2016).  Although, in the interview referenced here, Bill does have a more science-focused view and sees science as what changes society the most.

On the other hand, artists can act as outside observers.  Collaborative efforts will broaden creativity of both the artist and the scientist and allow for better ways to articulate scientific concepts in a non-scientific, accurate representation of the information (Stevens & O'Conner, 2017).  Art may actually be a separate, but necessary aspect of science that allows for greater comprehension.  Creativity in any form is a stepping stone to greater knowledge, regardless of the subject.

So my ask for this week is if you are a scientist, reach out to an artist to help you communicate your views in a fresh way to engage new audiences.  If you are an artist, reach out to a scientist and provide your vision on technical concepts and see how that broadens your world for new mediums of work.  Science can enhance art, and art can enhance science.

Please continue to encourage the learners in your life to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, but also let the Artist tendencies to show through!

STEM Education is now STEAM Education!

Bizarre Lego Channel - STEM Education Rocks!

Hey Bill Nye! Is art as important as science? (2016, February 29). Big Think. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/videos/bill-nye-on-the-importance-of-art-and-science 

Stevens, C. & O'Conner, G. (2017, August 16). When artists get involved in research, science benefits. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/when-artists-get-involved-in-research-science-benefits-82147

Field Trip! 2019 Brick Universe Convention

This week was one of great fun for us at Bizzare Lego Channel. First of all, we took a trip to downtown Raleigh, NC to attend Brick Universe! Brick Universe has been around for four years and is gaining traction as a showplace for LEGO artists to showcase their creations. It was a great trip to meet the artists and experience their creations first hand.  A few of my favorite from the show are below. 
 

Rosie the Riveter poster made with LEGOs

This is a LEGO mural of the Rosie the Riveter poster from 1942, using 4,738 pieces and taking 68 hours of work. The artist is Abbie Bocan. You can check out more from this artist at abbiedabbles.com. 
 

LEGO art - Unchain my Heart by Paul Hetherington

This next creation, and an original idea, is titled Unchain my Heart by Paul Hetherington, using 18,300 bricks and taking 230 hours to build. 
 

LEGO art - Flatiron Building by Jonathan Lopes

Here is the Flatiron Building by Jonathan Lopes. It took 71,000 pieces and 160 hours to create. This is not the same as the LEGO Architecture series kit but is a 4-foot-tall version of the building that is very realistic. 
 

LEGO art - Palace in Wonderland by Paul Hetherington

Finally, another original idea, is Palace in Wonderland, also by Paul Hetherington. This one is 25,600 pieces and took 420 hours to build. 

There were also vendors selling hard to find LEGO kits and pieces, some were selling LED light kits to make creations more alive, and some were selling LEGO-inspired art.

From my techie and geeky side though, I really would like to see some creations that use LEGO MINDSTORMS!  I do think of robotics as a very unique type of art and feel that anything LEGO-related that brings a sense of wonder, curiosity, and inspiration would fit in well in this convention.  It would also engage more LEGO fans who are versed in our favorite topics of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  Maybe next year I will have something to submit in the convention in the medium of LEGO robotic art.

The history of LEGO MINDSTORMS, from RCX to EV3

According to LEGO, MINDSTORMS is the best-selling product ever produced by LEGO. For today’s blog we will focus specifically on the MINDSTORMS platforms (History, n.d.).

The first LEGO robotic brain brick was introduced in 1998, the RCX. 

LEGO MINDSTORMS RCX from the original LEGO Robotics Invention System user guide (Robotics, 1998)

The RCX had two motors, two touch sensors, and a single color sensor. Programming was completed through the LEGO RCX code, which was a very limited, but good way to introduce programming to people with very little or no programming experience. Of course, for the more seasoned developers, there were, and still are, ways to flash the operating system to use conventional programming languages, the most popular being NQC, or Not Quite C (Knudsen, 1999). 

The second LEGO brain brick was the NXT, released in 2006, with the NXT 2.0 released in 2009.

My LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT with the leJOS firmware

The NXT had Bluetooth connectivity, a color sensor, a touch sensor, a sound sensor, an ultrasonic sensor that detects objects, measures distance, and detects movement, and three servo motors. Aside from a few different construction pieces, the NXT 2.0 did not include the sound sensor, but did have a second touch sensor. 

Native programming for the NXT and NXT 2.0 was an intuitive drag-and-drop GUI tool that allowed for easy development. I found this to be a little limiting with what I wanted to create, so I used the leJOS firmware that allowed for development using the Java programming language. 

The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 was released in 2013. 

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, image from the LEGO website

EV3 has a color sensor, a touch sensor, a remote control, an infrared sensor, two large servo motors, and one medium motor. It also has the nice and easy to use GUI programming tool.  Like its predecessors, there are many different options that allow for development using popular programming languages like Python, Java, and C. 

In conclusion, the LEGO MINDSTORMS product line has had great longevity over its three incarnations and with no signs of stopping.  I am looking forward to the fourth version of the brain brick, but there is no indication of the EV3 being discontinued any time soon.

If you are interested in understanding programming and like to work with LEGOs, then the MINDSTORMS product is well worth the money and time you invest in it.  LEGO MINDSTORMS are one of the most successful ways to encourage you and your students to create in a safe environment that promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics!

 

References

31313 MINDSTORMS EV3. (n.d.). LEGO. Retrieved from https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/products/mindstorms-ev3-31313 

History of LEGO robots (n.d.). LEGO. Retrieved from https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/history 

Knudsen, J.B. (1999). The unofficial guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS Robots. O’Reilly, Sebastopol, CA. 

LEGO MINDSTORMS user guide (2006). LEGO. 

LEGO MINDSTORMS user guide (2009). LEGO. 

Robotics Invention System (1998). LEGO.