Automation and Robotics - 8th Grade

Eighth grade students at Farnsworth take Automation and Robotics, which is a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) course designed to utilize the skills they have learned in 6th and 7th grade Aerospace and Engineering, Science and Math classes.

The course begins with an introduction to basic construction techniques, tools and materials. This provides students the experience and confidence to not only construct robots in class, but also to tackle basic repair jobs they may face as future vehicle or homeowners.

Students then progress into learning to construct moving parts: bearings, wheels, axles, gears and gear trains, and linear motion. Once students are proficient in this topic, students begin to use electric motors to give power to their motion systems.

The second half of the class dives into coding and automation. Students are given tasks that must be completed by their robot. They must build a robot that will complete the task using the skills they learned in the first half of the course, then plan out the code that will control the robot to accomplish that task. Students then program, test, debug, and improve their robot and program.

When students complete this class, they will have foundational skills in engineering, construction, teamwork, and coding.