Tokyo Tech News

Class for children and guardians combines programming with LEGO

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Published: April 24, 2019

Tokyo Tech staff and seven members of Digital Creators Club traP, an official Tokyo Tech student club, held a LEGO-themed programming class for elementary school students and their guardians on March 2.

Original LEGO-inspired robots

Hideki Mori, associate professor at the Center for Innovative Learning, kicked off the event with a presentation on how to use Cricket, a small programmable device that can make things spin, light up, and play music. Once the youngsters and guardians had been briefed on the day’s activities, traP members moved in to assist with the assembly of LEGO components and provide programming guidance as needed.

Unsurprisingly, the children took the initiative and did not fail to impress. Families worked together to focus on the task at hand, share ideas, and learn through trial and error throughout the 90-minute session. The result was an original LEGO robot created by each of the family teams.

Tokyo Tech students talk on coding
Tokyo Tech students talk on coding

Participants focus as traP members assist
Participants focus as traP members assist

Presenting to the whole group

Presentation time
Presentation time

In addition to LEGO components, participants were free to use drawing paper, wheels, and other materials they felt comfortable with to create their original robots. All participants, both young and slightly older, demonstrated genuine pride and joy as they presented their creations. Most robots, when switched on, either moved straight ahead or spun around in circles.

A special venue with a special view

This was the first time Tokyo Tech Museum hosted a programming class for children and guardians. The event was held on the 4th floor of Centennial Hall, a unique half-cylindrical space usually reserved for international conferences and academic presentations. The venue offers an impressive view of Ookayama Campus to the west and Ookayama station to the east. In the post-event questionnaire, 82 percent of children and 93 percent of parents said they enjoyed the event.

The Tokyo Tech Museum and Archives looks forward to hosting more outreach activities in the future.

Contact

Tokyo Tech Museum and Archives

Email centjim@jim.titech.ac.jp

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