Week 7.5 of Camp Ursa Minor!

The last week of camp was a great success! We played many icebreaker games, learned so much about robotics and coding, and applied what we learned to complete various challenges.

Everyone participated in playing Two Truths and A Lie, Never Have I Ever, Skribbl.io, and Gartic Phone. Gartic Phone was so fun that we played an extra round of it on the last day of camp!

During the lessons, campers learned about Robotics Teams, specifically the Arctos 6135 Robotics Team, and about FIRST Robotic Competitions. Furthermore, campers learned everything about LEDs and how to make one blink using Tinkercad.

Campers also tested their knowledge by completing various tasks. They included the Line Challenge (where they had to code their robot to drive in a straight line and stop in front of a flag) and the Half Moon Challenge (where they had to code their robot to drive around a corner to reach the flag).

Over the duration of the camp, whether it was playing icebreakers or participating during the lessons, we got a lot of engagement!

Week 7 of Camp Ursa Minor!

For the last camp session of the summer, we started it off with icebreakers!! Campers were really engaged when Two Truths and A Lie, Charades, and Skribbl.io were played.

We did not get a lot of video/visual feedback from campers as cameras were not turned on, but the camp was still so fun, and campers seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot.

Curriculum wise, we did run out of time during some of the lessons, but many many many concepts were still taught. Campers learned about...

- different parts of a robot (motors, distance sensors, color sensors, and wheels) and how those parts contribute to the overall function of a robot

- why a robot might spin in circles

- they applied what they learned about distance sensors to code a robot to move towards a flag and stop

- they completed the Half Moon Challenge, where they had to code a robot to drive around a corner to the flag and stop

- about LEDs and how to make one blink

Overall, everyone enjoyed themselves and learned so much!

We also want to thank everyone for coming and for being so willing to participate!

Week 6.5 of Camp Ursa Minor!

We began with a show and tell icebreaker, which helped us understand the campers through some of their special possessions. We then tried the line challenge, which we finished with ease. We then moved onto the distance sensor, which brought up some questions but overall was a success.

A riddle icebreaker was played which got the campers thinking critically and collaborating. A TinkerCAD lesson was taught and campers were challenged to create a blinking LED that worked based on code. Campers were introduced to how a robotics team works and about the different subteams and parts needed to make a successful robotics team. This sparked more interest in robotics in general and more specifically, robotics teams.

Some successes included lots and lots of participation from campers - which we really love and greatly appreciate :) and how engaged and excited they were to answer and ask questions. Although many were beginners to coding, they were always curious and interested and understood and absorbed the lessons well. Thank you for such a fantastic week of camp!!!

Week 6 of Camp Ursa Minor!

Week 6 kicked off with show and tell. Campers and counsellors got to show off their possessions and what was important to them. Then, campers were challenged to complete the line challenge and use a distance sensor. They did exceptionally in both challenges!

Throughout the duration of the camp, campers also tried the Rearward and Halfmoon challenges, learned about how code works with mechanical components, about circuits, and about different aspects of robotics. They also really enjoyed the riddles and the TinkerCAD activities.

Many explored and created complicated projects that were shared with the rest of the group during the last day of camp.

Week 5.5 of Camp Ursa Minor!

Week 5.5 was a great success! Lots of learning, lots of fun, and lots of participation. Campers asked for clarification whenever they were confused and they answered all the FTC SIM questions by unmuting and typing in the chat. The Two Truths and a Lie icebreaker was played in three separate breakout rooms where everyone got to know each other better.

Campers completed the Half Moon and distance sensor challenges to perfection! They also got to design various circuits in Tinkercad, and since there was extra time, they got to further explore the circuits. During the Show and Tell icebreaker, a camper showed a circuit they coded in the programming language C which wrote "Camp Ursa Minor 5.5" on Tinkercad. That is super impressive!

After learning about FIRST and FIRST Robotic Competitions, some campers were interested in joining an FLL team in the future. We are glad that we got campers excited about learning more about robotics!

During the last day of camp, it was tropical-themed, so everyone dressed up and had lots of fun! Altogether, campers and counsellors enjoyed the camp and the campers went above and beyond and presented amazing projects!

Week 5 of Camp Ursa Minor!

WEEK 5 is complete! During the 5 day period, many games were played, many robotics and coding skills were learned, and most importantly, everyone had so much fun!

The camp session started off with introductions and a scavenger hunt. Then, campers learned about the FTC SIM linear and distance sensor and completed challenges related to them wonderfully. This week there was lots of participation: campers asked and answered tons of questions and many turned their cameras on! We loved how excited campers were!

Icebreakers such as Two Truths and a Lie and a counting game were played. For the curriculum part of the camps, campers completed the Half Moon challenge, a variety of circuit simulations in Tinkercad, and they learned about greater than and less than signs and how these signs can be used in coding.

Overall, there was a divide between campers' favorite activity: some said they loved the FTC SIM while others said they loved Tinkercad.

Day 4 - Day 5, Week 4 of Camp Ursa Minor!

As usual, the end of week 5 started off with icebreakers. Campers' really enjoyed these icebreakers and one even said that they were the highlight of the camp.

Everything went smoothly - there were no technical difficulties and breakout rooms were used to teach the distance sensor. Many of our counsellors found that using breakout rooms effectively increased participation from campers and that it was much easier to communicate and teach to a smaller group.

Campers got a work period to try out some more FTC-SIM challenges.

Our counsellors were also supper happy that campers turned their cameras on! :) We really appreciate it!

Day 1 - Day 3, Week 4 of Camp Ursa Minor!

Week 4 started off with icebreakers, the Half-moon challenge, the Line challenge, and the Rearend Challenge. All these challenges were completed to perfection! Campers also tried the Line challenge again, but with a twist: they had to drive their robot towards the flag and stop using a distance sensor.

Campers were also introduced to different parts of a robot and how these parts helped a robot work.

We thank all the campers for participating using their microphones and using the chat option. We would love if more of you turned on your cameras!

Half-moon challenge in progress! Great Job!

Day 4 - Day 5, Week 3 of Camp Ursa Minor!

More icebreakers were played:

- "What would you do if you won the lottery?"

- "Who is your favorite fictional character?"

Now, getting into the fun part of camp: the robotics and coding-related activities...

- Campers were challenged with an LED activity on TinkerCAD

- They presented the amazing projects that they worked on on day 4

- A Q&A session about STEM

When the campers' were asked which was their favorite activity, they answered "using TinkerCAD."

Lastly, during these last few days of camp, there seemed to be more technical difficulties - many campers could not hear the videos on the presentations.

Day 1 - Day 3, Week 3 of Camp Ursa Minor!

During the first few days of week 3, we definitely got more participation - this time every camper participated one way or another! Campers participated in the "show and tell" icebreaker activity, in the distance sensor activity, and in the FTC movement puzzles. In the movement puzzles, campers were given two challenges: to complete the puzzle using a distance sensor and to complete it without a distance sensor.

One camper even got to learn about CAD!!!

The only set backs during these few days were some technical issues with Wi-Fi and zoom.

Day 4 - Day 5, Week 2 of Camp Ursa Minor!

As week 2 comes to an end, campers were introduced to TinkCAD, circuit building with LEDs, resistors, and Arduinos. Then campers got to choose between challenges focused on TinkCAD circuits or challenges focused on FTC sim. They got a work period to explore these challenges by themselves and apply the knowledge they obtained.

We are very thankful to all the campers who turned their cameras on and we hope that everyone of you enjoyed the camp and had fun while learning!! :)

The Half Moon activity!

Day 1 - Day 3, Week 2 of Camp Ursa Minor!

In this week's camp session, we learned a lot about the campers:

- Many of the campers already had a good foundation in various codes, they include Scratch, JavaScript, Java, and Python! Impressive!!!

- When asked "what do you want to be when you grow up?" as an icebreaker, many campers wanted to be programmers, engineers, and game designers.

Campers also learned a lot as well! They learned how to use FTC SIM and some programming in order to move the robot to reach a certain goal. Many campers enjoyed the FTC SIM challenges and the Two Truths and A Lie icebreaker. There were some difficulties in logging on to the Tinkercad classroom, but other than that, the camp went smoothly.

Day 2 - Day 5, Week 1 of Camp Ursa Minor!

Throughout this week’s camp, counsellors and campers got to know each other better - they learned what each others’ favorite color was and what each others’ favorite country was. Campers applied their knowledge about distance sensors to make their robots move in a half moon movement. Together as a team, they troubleshot the code that would make this possible. Campers also got introduced to circuits and text programming!

The campers’ favorite activity was the very first one, which was the FTC SIM movement 1 activity.

Here is what one camper had to say about this week: “I had lots of fun and learned lots of interesting things, I would come back for another week if I could."

We hope that every camper enjoyed this week and learned a lot about robotics and coding. We certainly had lots of fun teaching and seeing every one of you thrive!

The half moon movement!

Day 1, Week 1 of Camp Ursa Minor!

On July 12th, we kicked off the first day of Camp Ursa Minor! After a round of introductions, we dove straight into an icebreaker. Counselors had the pleasure of presenting a brief powerpoint on FIRST robotics which included a breakdown of what makes up a robot as well as a daily challenge.

Our team encountered many successes along the way! All campers made an effort to be present online and we managed to evade significant technical issues. Counselors will continue to navigate Zoom settings and determine the most appropriate meeting procedures moving forward.

We definitely appreciate the campers who put in the extra effort to engage with counselors. We love when you turn on your cameras and mics to share your ideas with us — keep up the great work!

The daily challenge! Campers applied their skills and programmed a robot to move to the flag.

Final Touches!

It’s the last day before the first week of Camp Ursa Minor! Our Camp Ursa Minor Planning Team and our Camp Counsellors are so excited to meet our campers, very soon!