Check out another awesome robotics team!

Hey everyone! Thank you for all of the support you offered during the MoonBots competition!! Please feel free to check out and follow the blog for the new competitive robotics team that I am coaching from Kaunakakai Elementary School! We are prepping for the next First Lego League competition in November of 2010!

Follow us here:
http://MolokaiForgetMeNots.blogspot.com

Mahalo!!
~Jenn

End of Phase 1

The judges decision has been announced and the Molokai Mahina MoonBot team did not advance to Phase 2. We did our best work and I am really proud of the team. We are going to meet and figure out what our teams plan is for the rest of the summer. Hopefully we can find a way to put our hard work to good use! We will keep blogging until we are finished so keep checking back!

~Jenn


This is a picture from our team building trip to the ice cream store! Thanks for the Icee Floats Aunty Kim!!

Patiently waiting....

We are still patiently waiting to hear the results from Phase 1 of the MoonBots competition...we are all very anxious to see which teams advance. We met today to keep working on our programming and had a few successes with collecting the water ice elements. We decided on a plan of attack for the mission, and that figured that collecting the Water Ice elements would be the most difficult so we wanted to tackle that first. Here is a video of our progress with that...

Over the past few weeks during the judging process our team has had plenty of time to reflect on our thoughts of this competition so far. When we first started this the students were really upset that I wasn't doing everything for them, I explained that it was part of the learning process, and even if it took longer or more attempts for them to complete the project at least they could say THEY did it, they weren't thrilled with the whole idea, especially since there were a LOT of 'banging their heads on the wall' moments, but today they finally admitted, even if we don't advance at least we learned a lot of neat new things! So from a coaches point of view, whether we advance or not, I think the Molokai Mahina MoonBot team was a success. I definitely think that the kids who participated in our MoonBots team gained a greater understanding of the moon and lunar exploration. They are even coming to class saying things like "Oh guess what, they found more water on the moon!" or "Check out these 7th graders who discovered something on mars"...and are really excited about it. Their experience on the team will also help them if they pursue robotics competitions in the future. One of our students has never programmed a robot before and spent the day today helping to create the successful water collecting program we used in the previous video!

One downside to this competition is that if we dont advance we are not going to be able to complete the mission on our own like we had planned. The mission challenge board requires wayyyyyyy more LEGO pieces then we have in our whole school, MAYBE on our entire island! We are still thinking of a way that we can test our robot so all of our hardwork is utilized at least to some extent.

Mahalo for following our blog this far keep checking back to hear the results of the Phase 1 portion of the competition... the judges said "on or before June 21st" so technically that gives them another roughly 8.5 hours if they are in Hawaii. (Im pretty sure they are in California somewhere because all of the time deadlines have been pacific time, so that gives them less than 5.5 more hours!) Until then, keep your fingers crossed for our team, we worked really hard and definitely deserve to make the top 20!!

a hui hou!

Jenn

Less than 24 hours now....

Tomorrow is the first day of Phase 2, and also the judges deadline for announcing the top 20 MoonBot teams in the world!! We are anxiously awaiting their decision and as soon as we hear it we will post it on here!! We have our fingers crossed that they will see all the hard work we put into this project and time we spent to get it juuuuuuuust right. :)

Check back for the results of Phase 1 tomorrow!!!

A hui hou!
~Jenn

Molokai Mahina MoonBot Team MashUps and Improvements!

The team decided that since we got called out for having a creative theme song by one of the judges, that we would show them just how creative we can be and put together a Molokai Mahina MoonBot team mashup of songs!! We arent ready to post it yet, but it does include some pretty awesome songs and A LOT of creativity, so check back!! :)

Today we are also working on finishing up our robot, we found some treads that fit perfectly on our newly improved larger tires. This is extra exciting for us because the larger tires worked great over the craters but were not very sturdy- we decided to put two tires on each axle and then the tread on the outside. So far so good! We even got extra creative and turned the treads inside out because the design was better for climbing the crater wall!

Here is a video of our newly improved tires- up close!



Here is the view from our Molokai Mahina MoonBot Monster! :)



Here is what our Robot looks like when it is going over the craters- its a pretty bumpy ride, but a HUGE improvement over what it used to look like!!

So much going on!

Today the Molokai Mahina team is meeting for 8 hours so we can stay caught up on our project! It makes for a long day, but we are having so much fun we barely notice! :) Here is what we are up to...

1. We decided to take a crack at building the landing ramp so we can work on getting the robot on and off of that, unfortunately we cannot complete this because we do not have the appropriate LEGO pieces. Awa and Moriah gave it their best shot, but it just wouldn't work.


2. After our last class where our robot fell to pieces we have been working on rebuilding it more sturdy and attractive! Here are Michael and Alex, working hard to build!

3. We have been working on programming a trial run so we can test out our new and improved Robot! Everytime we test it we are able to make additional improvements on it! Here are Erik and Michael during a test run!

We also had a team building trip to the local ice cream store for some Icee Floats (Thank you Aunty Kim!!) and a team pep talk which was very encouraging! Check back for pictures! Then we came back to our NEW classroom and had lunch and a dance party (hey we had to burn off all that energy from the ice cream some how!) to our favorite GLEE songs.

Thanks for reading our blog, we are meeting two more times next week and are patiently waiting for the judges decision on the TOP 20 teams!!

Check back next week for more fun stuff from the Molokai Mahina MoonBots Team! :)

~Jenn

We Like to MoonBot, MoonBot!!

Check this out!!

This isnt an official competition website, but it is a website of one of the main sponsors!!! This was also posted on their facebook group page!!

Yay for The Molokai Mahina MoonBot Team!! We will find out June 21st if we advance to Phase 2!! :)

http://thelaunchpad.xprize.org/2010/06/moonbots-teams-really-went-far-out.html

a hui hou!
Jenn

Up and running...sort of

We started meeting again today after our much deserved break! We decided that we were going to continue working on our robot and programming so that when we advance to Phase 2 we will not have wasted any time!

When we were trying to make our digital design of our robot for phase 1 we quickly put a model together, it wasn't as sturdy or as aesthetically pleasing as we would have liked, but it allowed us test out whether or not our design would be able to complete the mission. During our initial test runs our robot had no issues climbing up and over the ridges/craters. Today when we did a follow up test run our robot had quite a few problems, the main one being that it wasn't sturdy enough to handle the roughness of the course.

Here is a video clip of our robot just before it fell apart after a few test runs.

We will be spending the rest of the class rebuilding a sturdier robot. :)

Next class we will continue rebuilding until we can successfully make it up and over the craters and ridges.

Thanks for checking out our blog!

~Jenn

Aaaaand we're back! :)

So after working so hard the past two weeks, we took this weekend off to relax and catch up on sleep! It was nice and relaxing, but now our weekend is over and its back to work!

Right now we are just waiting, and its killing us!!! Im really hoping that the judges give updates each week as to what the status is of the judging... 24 days is a long time to wait when your teams future is on the line!

Since we are just waiting I have been checking out a lot of the other blogs/videos/and robot designs. It appears that several teams may not have made the deadline just based on teams that do not have their videos posted to their teams homepage. It seems like a lot of teams had a very difficult part with the digital design of the robot, I suppose that is to be expected since it is not a requirement of FLL (which most of the teams on MoonBots are also a part of) and most people do not have experience with it. I think the C.A.D. (computer aided design/computer assisted design/computer assisted drafting, basically it is the process of planning and drawing structures or machines before actually building them) experience is great for our team, especially those students who decide to take the C.A.D. class offered next year! I have a lot of experience with CAD and think that having knowledge in it can offer endless opportunities for its users. It was really fun to see the kids learning how to use it on their own, and while I was there to mentor them if they really got stuck, they basically learned and executed (properly!) Google Sketchup in less than 2 weeks! :)

Im not sure how the judges are going to announce the 20 finalists; if they are going to email the coaches, post it to the website, etc. but as soon as I know I will post it here! Whether we made it or not we worked our okole's off and are proud of ourselves! :)

Thanks for your support! Keep checking back!!

Jenn

www.molokaimahina.yolasite.com

If you want to see the actual Microsoft Document Files of the script, essay and robot justification check out our other website. We were not able to post the files on here so I had to copy and paste...but on the other site you can see it in an easier to read format. :)

Thanks again for checking out our blog and supporting the Molokai Mahina MoonBots Team!!!

Jenn
http://www.molokaimahina.yolasite.com

Last thing on the list...

I was going to post this earlier...and its a little outdated now, but it was a pretty big deal for us today! We finally crossed the LAST THING off of our list!! HOORAY!!

Informational Website Posted!

We worked hard on your digital design and we want you to see it! Unfortunately we are unable to post it on this site so we created a different website to post it on. Please check it out!!

http://molokaimahina.yolasite.com

and dont forget the "Official website":

www.moonbots.org/teams/molokai-mahina

there you can also check out some of the other teams we are competing against! There are over 250 teams and from all over the world, definitely a lot of interesting points of view!

30 minutes until the deadline and we are still cracking away!!! We have everything uploaded to the website for judging, but now we are just adding finishing touches! :)

No time will be wasted!

~Jenn

Our Final Video!!

This is the Final copy of our video that we are submitting to the judges for the Google Lunar X Prize MoonBot challenge! Enjoy!!! :)

Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
Mr. Gonzales (video), Dr. Brazzel (lab coat), Mrs. Jenkins (spacesuit), Mrs. Svetin (costumes), Mrs. Yerhot (snacks), Mrs. Gilliland (costumes), Mrs. Kikukawa (support), Ms. Espiritu (support).

Let us know what you think! :)

Mahalo!

12:30 Blog Update

Here is what our Script Looked like...when we filmed we had close to 8 minutes, so we had to cut a lot out, but this is what we originally had! :)

Enjoy!





Molokai Mahina MoonBot Script
ALARM SOUNDS


WARNING: This film may contain life altering information that will require you to think outside of the box and will enhance your interest in lunar exploration. Now sit back and prepare for the experience of a life time.


DVD MENU SHOWS ON SCREEN:
1. Early Missions to the Moon
2. MoonBot Resort
3. After Your Trip
Play All Set Up


TITLE PAGE: EARLY MISSIONS TO THE MOON


Music starts playing while text scrolls across screen in a “star wars” way..


(‘Awa) SINCE 1959 HUMANS HAVE BEEN YEARNING TO EXPLORE THE MOON AND BEYOND. PROBES, SPACECRAFTs, AND A FEW GOOD MEN HAVE ORBITTED AND SET FOOT ON THE MOON. WITH THE HELP OF ROBOTS AND TECHNOLOGY WE HAVE LEARNED THAT THE MOON HAS 1/6 GRAVITY, WATER ICE, HELIUM 3 AND LITTLE ATMOSPHERE. ALL OF THESE FACTORS MAKE THE LUNAR LOUNGE ON THE MOON THE PERFECT PLACE TO ACHIEVE YOUR OPTIMUM HEALTH AND SPACE EXPLORATION DREAMS. NOW COME WITH US ON A JOURNEY WHERE MANKIND REACHES DESIRED HEALTH AND SCIENCE GOALS, ON THE MOON.


(Michael RUNNING ON ROAD) I used to have such a hard time running because my knees caused me so much pain, but IN THE LUNAR LOUNGE I was able to exercise without pain and get in the best shape of my life.

(Alex) Previously when we visited the moon we could only STAY AND LIVE inside the spacecraft for 3 days. Now thanks to the newly opened LUNAR LOUNGE we can stay for SEVERAL weeks at a time and finish our projects in an efficient and timely matter.

TITLE PAGE: LUNAR LOUNGE ON THE MOON.


(ERIK): “WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A STATE OF THE ART FACILITY THAT IS COMPLETELY ATANOMOUS AND GREEN. WE USED SOLAR PANELS TO CREATE A SAFETY ZONE FOR YOU TO REACH YOUR FITNESS GOALS. OUR COZY PRIVATE ROOMS CONTAIN SOLAR TOILETS AND SOLAR DISTILLERS WHILE OUR BUBBLE WINDOWS ILLUMINATE THE INTERIOR SOFTLY WITHOUT A HARSH DIRECT SOLAR LIGHT SOURCE. THESE LIGHTS ARE REALLY TOP OF THE LINE; THEY ALLOW FULL SUNLIGHT SPECTRUM WHICH MAKES GROWING FOOD BEARING PLANTS AND RECYCLING AIR POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TO THE FITNESS RESORT WE ARE CONSTRUCTING A ‘PORTAL TO MARS’, A LAUNCH PAD IN THE WORKS DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRANSPORTING HUMANS TO MARS AND BEYOND.


(ALEX): “BEING ABLE TO GO TO THE MOON AND STAY THERE FOR 4 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS INSTEAD OF ONLY THREE DAYS MAKES A WORLD OF A DIFERENCE IN OUR EFFORTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MOON AND ALSO TO CREATE A NEW LUNAR LAUNCH PAD TO MARS. THE “PORTAL TO MARS” AREA OF THIS BIODOME ALLOWS SCIENTISTS TO WORK OUTSIDE OF THE LUNAR LOUNGE ON THE LUNAR LAUNCH PAD, NOW INSTEAD OF BUILDING IT ON EARTH AND AGAIN ON THE MOON WE CAN SIMPLY TRANSPORT THE NECESSARY SUPPLIES AND BUILD IT ONE TIME ON THE MOON.


(MORIAH): UPON YOUR ARRIVAL TO THE MOON AND OUR LUNAR LOUNGE YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY FEEL THE EFFECTS OF HAVING 1/6 OF THE AMOUNT OF GRAVITY PULLING ON YOUR BODY. IT WILL BE LIKE A WEIGHT IS LIFTED OFF OF YOU AS YOUR HEART AND BODY ARE NOW ABLE TO DO THE SAME TASK WITHOUT AS MUCH EFFORT. LESS GRAVITY WILL ALLEVIATE THE PAIN THAT YOUR EXCESS WEIGHT HAS PUT ON YOUR JOINTS. THIS WILL ALLOW YOU TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF OUR FITNESS RESORT. SO GO AHEAD AND GIVE RUNNING A SHOT, OR TRY ONE OF OUR MANY AEROBIC CLASSES. HERE IN THE PRIVACY OF OUR LUNAR LOUNGE YOU CAN GET IN THE HABIT OF WORKING OUT SO WHEN YOU ARRIVE BACK ON EARTH YOU CAN CONTINUE EXCERSING AND MAINTAIN THOSE RESULTS.


SHOW TITLE PAGE: WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER YOUR TRIP TO THE MOON


(MICHAEL): UPON RETURNING TO EARTH IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT OVER WORK YOURSELF AND YOU ADJUST YOUR FITNESS ROUTINES ACCORDINGLY TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE INCREASED GRAVITY ON EARTH. THE ADVANCED FITNESS PROFESSIONALS AND DIETITIANS LOCATED ON EARTH AND ON THE MOON CAN HELP YOU WITH CREATING A PERSONAL FITNESS ROUTINE TO FOLLOW WHEN YOU ARRIVE BACK ON EARTH. MANY OF THE PEOPLE WE HAVE SENT TO THE MOON HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT COMING BACK AND GETTING INTO AN APPROPRIATE WORKOUT ROUTINE, JUST LIKE ME.


(Alex): THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK RIGHT ALONG THESE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE ON THE MOON CHANGING THEIR LIVES BY LOSING WEIGHT ENCOURAGES ME TO CONTINUE WORKING HARD AT HELPING MANKIND TRAVEL FURTHER INTO SPACE VIA OUR PORTAL TO MARS LAUNCH PAD. I EVEN HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF MEETING AND INSPIRING A YOUNG MAN THERE WHO NOT ONLY CHANGED HIS LIFE AT THE FITNESS RESORT BUT ALSO CHANGED HIS CAREER PATH BY BECOMING AN ASTRONAUNT AND IS NOW ON THE LIST FOR THE NEXT SPACE MISSION.


(AWA): WHEN I WENT TO THE MOON IT WAS TO CHANGE MY HEALTH HABITS, BUT WHEN I GOT THERE AND BEGAN CHANGING MY LIFE, I REALIZED THAT NOTHING WAS IMPOSSIBLE. WHEN I CAME BACK TO THE EARTH I ENROLLED IN A COLLEGE AND GOT MY DEGREE IN ASTRONOMY, REALIZING MY CHILDHOOD DREAM, AND AM NOW SIGNED UP FOR THE FIRST SPACE MISSION TO MARS UTILIZING THE PORTAL TO MARS. MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCES ON THE MOON, AND YOURS COULD BE TOO.


(Michael): So come AND join us on the next lunar mission, YOU could be the person who helps us set new limits on what humans can achieve IN SPACE AND BEYOND.


BEGIN ROLLING CREDITS TO “I LIKE TO MOONBOT, MOONBOT. I LIKE TO MOONBOT, MOONBOT!”

11:30am Blog Update!!

Been working for almost 4 hours! :)

Here is the copy of our essay. Unfortunately I cannot save the document on this blog so you are going to have to read the text here...I will see if I can come up with a different, more reader friendly, way to get the text on here! For now, though- here is the text!

Molokai Mahina MoonBot Essay
Since 1959, people have been yearning to go to the moon. The first lunar mission was by Luna 1 on January 2, 1959 and completed by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union has since launched twenty-eight additional lunar missions. Americans have launched a total of thirty-six lunar missions. Through previous explorations we have learned, amongst other miscellaneous things, there is water ice, helium 3, 1/6 gravity, and only a small amount of atmosphere on the moon. We have learned a lot from the moon and are gaining more knowledge with each trip.
The first American lunar mission was performed by the Pioneer 4 which was only meant as a fly by mission. So far lunar exploration has evolved from orbiting the moon, to crash landing on the moon, to soft landing on moon, to man walking on the moon. The next step in our journey to the moon is to build and reside there.
With water ice on the moon, we can create oxygen so we are able to sustain life on the moon. On earth helium 3 is used for fuel, on the moon having access to helium 3 is important because it means we can make fuel there instead of transporting large quantities of fuel with us. The 1/6 gravity will not only help people exercise with more ease but will also help us launch from the Portal to Mars launch pad with less effort and friction. Little atmosphere on the moon will make exploring and documenting the history of the moon easier.
The Soviet Union and the U.S.A have been in a Cold War inspired space race since 1959. Their goal is to be the first country to put a man on the moon. The Soviet Union’s Luna 1 took pictures of the far-side of the moon. Apollo 11 was the first U.S.A. space craft to land on the moon; this was in 1969. The next orbiter the USA has scheduled to go to the moon will be the G.R.A.I.L. in September of 2011.
The Molokai Mahina team believes that the key to future space exploration is a biodome on the moon. The biodome we are hoping to build on the moon will be an autonomous and completely green structure. Inside our state of the art facility we will have a Lunar Lounge which will include a residential, fitness and agricultural division. We will also have an additional space development portion called “Portal to Mars” which will allow scientists to develop and construct a launch pad to Mars further increasing our abilities to explore space. This biodome is a necessity to expand space travel and enhance man kinds understanding of the world beyond ours.
The materials we will use to construct our biodome are titanium, aluminum, and carbon fiber. We chose these materials because they are light in weight making them easy to transport. They are also exceptionally strong which will make them a dependable and reliable material. We will also mount solar panels onto the outside surface of the biodome to collect sunlight and power our entire facility. Because there is very little atmosphere there will be no shortage of sunlight. Even during the long lunar night we will have a reserve of energy that we can use. Inside all of our buildings we will include bubble windows to illuminate the interior softly without a harsh direct solar light source protecting us from the intense sunlight and providing us with a means to grow food. There will also be solar distillers to provide water that is more pure than bottled or tap water for the people who are staying in our biodome. Solar toilets are perfect for remote areas and require no plumbing or water. In addition the waste can be recycled and used for compost. It is difficult to determine the cost of this facility, but in general the cost of these materials are about 1/3 the cost of conventional construction.
Inside our Lunar Lounge we will have a fitness facility set up for morbidly obese people to begin achieving their health goals. It will be easier for obese people to get off on the right foot with their weight loss goals with 1/6 gravity because it relieves some of the pressure on their joints, and also allows their hearts to pump easier. There will be onsite doctors and physicians to monitor each person’s health status. The location of our facility will help to eliminate many of the distractions that they may face on earth such as fast food restaurants that they may be tempted with on earth.
Our Agricultural Division will include our green house and farm area. We will grow and harvest all of our own produce and the bubble windows will help us achieve this goal. Our farm area will contain chickens and various other farm animals for us to get eggs from and also meat. We will also have a compost area, including a worm farm where we can dispose of our non-hazardous waste. Having healthy organic food available at virtually no cost will be instrumental in making this facility survive.
The Portal to Mars, a separate area of our biodome will serve as a way to transport humans to Mars and beyond. The main benefit of having a launch pad on the moon is that we can actually build and test the launch pad right there on the moon instead of having to build it on earth and transport it in pieces. Having the Portal to Mars in the same biodome as the Lunar Lounge allows the scientists to work on the launch pad for longer periods of time because we predict, based on previous data, that humans could survive in protected environments on the moon for about four weeks before their bones begin to become brittle.
The reason we chose to do a fitness facility on the moon is because health is a very important aspect of life. Without good health our lifespan would be shorter and we wouldn’t be able to live to our full potential. The moon is a great place to take advantage of your health goals. You can lose weight, your heart and body are able to work without as much effort, your muscles are able to work more freely, and you don’t experience some everyday problems like heartburn.
Weight loss is very easy to accomplish on the moon. Because of the 1/6 gravity your able to exercise without your excess weight acting as a burden to you exercising. This will let you do full body aerobic exercises like running, swimming, and dancing which you may not be able to do on earth.
On the moon your heart and body are able to work without as much effort. This is because with less gravity they don’t have to hold the body’s weight and therefore it has an easier job. This also helps people with cancer because the less gravity speeds down the blood flow which slows the spread of cancer through the blood.
Another advantage of being on the moon is that your muscles are able to move and strengthen themselves with ease. With the excess weight lifted off of you, you can participate in activities such as dancing, run on a treadmill, or do resistance exercises all which may have been hard for you on earth.
Overall the moon is a GREAT place to reach your fitness goals. You can maintain a healthy body weight here and participate in many exercises so on your return to earth you can continue your established exercise routine and maintain your healthy habits. This will make you happy and your body happy utilizing one of the universes many resources that has a lot of potential…..the moon.
When you arrive back on earth you will feel the immediate effects of your new healthy body. Since you have already established the basic foundation of a healthy exercise and eating program it will be easy for you to maintain these habits with minimum change when you arrive back home. The earth has more gravity than the moon so you would not be able to maintain your same intensity levels but with less weight on your body you will be able to complete the same tasks you that you did on the moon. As for your eating habits you wouldn’t have to change anything, just continue eating healthy. You will feel very good with your progress and if you continue your exercise and eating program you can continue to live a healthy live.
With the Lunar Lounge and Portal to Mars on the moon there are no limits on what we can accomplish.

9:30am Update!

We have been working away for almost 2 hours now...and we have been checking lots of things off of our list!!

Here is a new vlog from our team member, Erik.

Keep checking back for more updates during the day!

Preview of Video

Check this out- let us know what you think!

Mahalo!
Jenn

Is any part of my brain still functioning?!

This evening I spent about 18 minutes looking for our video camera so I could upload some VLOGs to our blog. I couldn't find it, and just when I was about to give up I realized it was attached to the 'test platform' we built for our robot, where I had just set it about 20 minutes ago!

Today in class Michael says to me "Aunty Jenn I think my brain is fried, Alex broke the robot in half and I immediately tried to click the 'undo button'!"

We have been working on this project non stop. We are starting to get overly exposed, tired and sloppy with our stuff so my plan is to just tell everyone to get well rested so tomorrow we can all bring our "A-game" to class!! I think we all just need a break and then tomorrow when we come back with fresh sets of eyes we will be more productive! :)

We are still having a hard time getting the google sketchup of our robot to upload. It will be a shame if we have to print it off and scan the pictures in...we spent so much time (mostly Michael and Moriah!) lining everything up on all sides so you could look at it from any angle and see how it was built. That wont be as easy with different 'still' images.

Please check back on our blog tomorrow- we will be uploading all of our final materials on to here for your viewing pleasure! :)

And thanks again to all of you for your comments! They are really great and the team loves reading them! :)

Here are some more Vlogs from today.
Enjoy!
~Jenn

Testing Testing...

Just testing out some different posting options before the deadline tomorrow...

These are the Official Competition logos we are supposed to include in our video. We are having a really hard time trying to get the digital design of our robot uploaded. We may end up just having to upload images to this site...we are still working on it. 

We've been working today for 8 hours...and are still working! Making this deadline is going to be a challenge for us...but we will do it! 

I'm going to keep on working on that digital design issue and will test back again later! 

aloha!
~Jenn 

2 more working days!!!

WOW! 32 Followers!!! Mahalo to all of you have taken the time to "follow" our blog, and also to those of you who are unable to follow but have left us comments!! Today at the end of class all of the students logged on to read your comments and they were really motivated to see who was following and what everyone was saying! So please- keep the comments coming!

Today we finally finished up the taping of our Video Essay!! Now we just need to edit it and we will be finished with it! We want to give another big giant thanks to Mr. Gonzales who has been helping us with the recording!! THANK YOU!!! Without you it wouldn't have been possible (literally- we used his camera!) we owe you a lifetime supply of powerade! ;)

Today was also the last day of school for many of the kids on our team so tomorrow we will be meeting all day! It is our goal to have everything finished by midnight tomorrow night so that we can be sure and get it all submitted in time to meet the deadline! Its going to take A LOT of hard work, but if we stay focused I know we can do it! :)

Here is a clip of Awa from the Molokai Mahina team! :)

Check back tomorrow for more pictures and videos! I am sure we will have a lot to say after 6 hours working in a little room with each other! :)

Aloha,

Jenn

Its Still Tuesday to us!

Even though the clock says it is early Wednesday morning some members of the Molokai Mahina MoonBots team are still busy working, now that shows true dedication!! :)

Today we were still working on the digital design of our robot and logo. We were also going to be finishing up with the filming of our video essay but that ended up not working out so we will finish tomorrow.

Less than 3 more working days left!!

Here is a VLOG from one of the Molokai Mahina team members, Michael!

So our new plan is to finish recording our essay tomorrow and hopefully (fingers crossed) get the majority of our digital design done!

Check back tomorrow evening for a more detailed blog with more videos and pictures!

Aloha Auinapo! (Good night!)

~Jenn

Monday, Monday!

Hello new followers! Thank you for joining us on this journey!! It has certainly been a whirlwind, hope you enjoy our blog! Please feel free to leave comments or contact me if you would like to! :)


Today proved to be a challenging one for the group! The pressure is really starting to sink in now that we only have 4 more days to finish Phase 1 of the competition! With things so intense right now, it takes a little work to remember to laugh and have fun! Good thing we have a funny bunch of kids to keep the morale high! :) Here is a picture of our team all dressed up in costume for day 1 of video taping for our essay.

So here is the update on our progress!

Today we got a little more than half of the taping done for our video presentation. We didn't want to go into too much detail since we only have 1-3 minutes to present, but as we were taping Mr. G (the man with the camera!) came up with a bunch of great ideas that were easy to add in quick! One challenge we faced with video taping was memorizing our parts...each student was completely able to recite their lines, but once the camera was on them they had such a hard time. To try and help them feel more comfortable the rest of the team left while each student was doing their part. Although all of the members are extremely amazing, one student in particular really impressed me with his 'readiness'! He was confident and ready to go when he arrived today and finished his part up! Tomorrow we are (Fingers crossed) going to finish the rest of the taping so that we can work on touching it up before Thursday.

As far as our Robot goes- well- yet again we changed our plan...it seems so difficult for us to make the digital design without actually building it first. I'm a little worried that we have been spending so much time focusing on the tires and gears that we are going to be forced to neglect other important parts. At the end of class I think we had mostly decided on what our next plan of attack is going to be. Tomorrow is a computer lab workday so this will allow for the team to make progress on our digital design. Our robotics goal is to have a final plan in place for the robot so we can finish the digital design without having to go back in and change it. :)

Also today I want to make a quick 'shout out' to our awesome parents who have been so generous to bring snacks for the team at each meeting!! It is really hard on the kids to go for 3 hours each day after school with no food. I'm sure if it wasn't for the 'Ono grindz' (Hawaiian for excellent food!) the kids would run out of steam before 3:00!! And thank you for offering to bring snacks without even being asked! Seriously, blog followers, this team can pound an entire loaf of bread with PBJ and Nutella, bananas, apples, cheese, box of crackers, 3 dozen cookies and water without even ruining their dinner! :) So Mahalo (Hawaiian for Thank You!) mommies, for the snacks and the support!!

Until tomorrow...

Jenn

Communication

Today we were in class and one of the students, Michael, says this: "Mrs. Whitted I think our blog for today should be called 'Communication' because Alex and I just spent the last 20 minutes working on different ideas for the same piece of the robot and didn't know the other one was working on it!" :) Good idea Michael!

So in today's 4 hour class we finalized our video essay! We took information from piles of books, various websites, former University of Arizona Astronomy professor (who was even impressed with the originality of our idea!!) and our previous knowledge to put together a (hopefully) entertaining presentation. Now we just need to cut 4 minutes off of our time to keep it under the 3 minute limit...

We also made a little bit of progress on our robot. We are still having a hard time figuring out what we think is the best way to complete the mission. Each time someone comes up with an idea then another person branches off of that and creates a new idea! Its really great to see the kids excited about learning and creating a one of a kind robot, but we are almost out of time and need to start finalizing our design!!

We are hoping to record our essay at Mondays class and use the rest of the week to work, work, work on our robot design.

a hui hou,

~Jenn

One Week to go!

We have been so busy working on this project!! We have met everyday for at least 2 hours, plus each night we all have 1 hour (or more!) of homework!

It looks like as of today we finally have our essay mostly finalized and ready to tape on Monday. We really want to make sure each and every person on the team has a part that they are committed and dedicated to!

We have also been (joyfully!) slaving away at our robot design. Earlier in the week we decided to go ahead and stick with wheels instead of treads and that seems to be working out. So far we have a great idea for our wheels, we just have to figure out how to attach everything together! Only using three motors has been somewhat of an issue for us, but we are still problem solving! We will hopefully be solving some of those robot problems tomorrow!

We decided to give uploading images and videos a try in this post, just to make sure that when it is time to upload the robot design and video essay everything will work out great! So here we go!

Here are some pictures of us working today!!

Meet our Team!

Want to know who is on the Molokai Mahina MoonBot Team? Here is your chance to meet them a few of them!

Jenn Whitted, Coach
My name is Jenn Whitted and I am a stay at home mom who teaches robotics on the side! Im a graduate from Iowa State University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a minor in Teaching with Technology. I think exposing people to technology at a young age is extremely important because it takes away a lot of the 'limitations' young people might experience when trying to complete a task. When technology is involved there is little that someone can't do.

I especially appreciate the opportunity to participate in the MoonBots competition because it brings lunar exploration out of the history books and puts it right in the hands of students.

My name is ‘Awa Yerhot, I am 10 years old. I am a 5th Grade student at Kaunakakai School and I have experience with robots. I would like to be on the Moon Bot competition team. I have the skills and knowledge about the Moon and Mars to participate in the Moon Bot competition.

Hi, my name is Erik Svetin. I am 10 years old and in the 5th grade at Kaunakakai Elementary school. I have a brother named Owen and my mom is a manager at a pharmacy and my dad works at the local GoodFellow Company. I like to play baseball, basketball and kick the can. I was in First Lego League and won 1st alternate last year. we are trying to go to state next year!

My name is Alex Gilliland I am a thirteen year old girl who lives on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. I have lived here for the past ten years. I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. I have also lived in Normal Illinois. I live with my mom, dad and, big brother, I love them all very much. My hobbies include; cooking, art, hanging out with my friends and reading good books. I also like to make people laugh and enjoy public speaking. My favorite school subject is science and math. When I grow up I would like to study to become an Astrobiologist.

Michael Altair Kikukawa is a freshman at Molokai High School. Last year he assisted in robotics and this year he is a mentor for the FLL robotics teams. He wanted to participate on the MoonBots Robotics Competition Team to learn more about the moon and robotics. He tells me he has always had a passion for astronomy, in fact he's named after the twelfth brightest star in the night sky, Altair. From a young age he has read astronomy books that his parents supplied him with but more recently he has been to an astronomy camp at UH Manoa and participated in various workshops on Molokai. He has a lot of experience creating videos and working with the technology involved in videos, computers, and robots.

Hi, my name is Moriah Jenkins and I am 14 and in the 10th grade. I have two sisters, 2 dogs and a rabbit. My mom is a teacher and my dad is a firefighter. My background in robotics is FLL and VEX. My background in astronomy is fairly vast. I have been to numerous astronomy camps and workshops. I am very interested in MoonBots and look forward to future research.

Registration is Complete!

We were able to get our registration in by the deadline tonight! It was a close call because we were working so hard to make our Team Logo be the most representative of our group as possible.

Here is what we came up with!

We decided to follow along with NASA tradition and make our own space mission patch. At the bottom we have a human hand shaking hands with a LEGO Robot hand, signifying the connection between these two worlds, with the Earth as a background. On top of that we have the United States of America flag and Hawaiian flag because we are from the state of Hawaii. Above that we have the "Discovery" sailboat which signifies navigation, something important to both the State of Hawaii and also to space exploration, (and also directly ties in with our project theme, which will be revealed in a later post!) sailing in the night sky with a telescope looking at the stars and the moon. The crescent moon is made complete with the addition of our "dome", more details to follow in future posts! Our image is enclosed by two olive branches which can be traced back to ancient Greece as the symbol of global peace. Surrounding our patch design are the names of our team members and our team name!

Next step in our project timeline- research for Video Essay and Robot Design!

A hui hou!

Moloka'i Mahina

Aloha,

This blog site is set up for the Moloka'i Mahina Robotics team to post their submissions for the Google Lunar X Prize MoonBots competition.



Currently we are in the process of selecting our team members and getting started on our work! We only have 2 days to get this set up before the registration deadline. We know we are a little late in the game but we are ready to work hard and learn some amazing things about Lunar Exploration!



A hui hou,

Jenn Whitted

MoonBots Team Coach