‘Chariot’ races test students’ skills

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

Fifth-grade students at William Penn Elementary School in the Elizabeth Forward School District are testing their computer programming and engineering skills this year.

The students have been building and racing robotic “chariots” in their technology class.

“Last year we did robo olympics with drones,” said Dr. Brad Simala, the building principal. “We’ve been doing programming with the students for the past three years. The chariot race is new this year. Last year they flew drones through an obstacle course. This year we incorporated the Tinker Lab to incorporate creativity.”

Technology teacher Ellen Caranese sees every student in the building for three class periods during each 10-day schedule, guiding them in their experiments with the computers and Sphero robots.

“They use the Spheros EDU app on their iPads,”  Caranese said. 

Simala said the students either drew or used their iPads to design the chassis of the “chariots” used in the races. The chariots are then cut from styrofoam using a glowforge machine, which takes a picture of the student’s design and cuts out of the selected material, whether it is wood or styrofoam or plastic. 

The chariot forms are then fitted with axles and wheels selected by the students and placed over spherical robots controlled by the iPads.

“We’re learning how to program and use technology,” said Berlyn Holibaugh, one of the 11-year-old students.

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