This episode of SciShow Kids was brought to you by LEGO Education.
LEGO Education has been inspiring teachers and students in the classroom
for over 40 years through playful, hands-on,
and engaging STEAM learning experiences.
[♪ INTRO]
Hi, Squeaks! What are you doing?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Oh! Squeaks is writing letters to all of our friends asking them
if they want to come over and play.
Mister Brown, Bill and Webb, Sam the Bat…
wow, we sure have a lot of friends, Squeaks!
[Squeaks squeaks]
Oh! Squeaks says it’s taking him forever to get
ahold of all those people one at a time.
Hmmm. It sure would be convenient if there was
a way to let all of our friends know when we want to hang out.
Hey, Squeaks… it sounds like you’ve found something
that you would like to change.
And I have an idea for how we could approach this problem.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Engineering!
That’s a way for people to solve problems.
And engineers are people who design solutions to problems,
to make life better for everybody!
So, Squeaks, are you ready to think like engineers to solve this problem?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Great! Well, it seems like we understand the problem.
That’s the first step in creating a solution!
We need a way to reach all of our friends at once.
But we’ll need some more information before we design a solution.
That will help us create something that does what we need.
Like, who is this for?
All our friends, right?
[Squeaks squeaks]
And all our friends live pretty close by.
So maybe we could design something that they could all see.
And understanding exactly what we need will help too.
We need something that all of our friends can see
and understand that it means we want them to come over.
And we want to be sure that our friends who can’t see
can still know when we want to play, so our design should use sound too.
Okay! Squeaks, I think we’ve gathered enough information.
Now, maybe we can design a solution to our problem.
So, let’s put our heads together, cause two heads are better than one!
Oh yeah, ok. Mhm… Yeah! Good idea.
Okay, Squeaks!
I think we have a design that might be able to solve our problem.
And I know what we can use to build it, too!
Ready? Let’s get building!
[♪ Music ]
And ta-da! What do you think, Squeaks?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Oh, you’re right. It is pretty small!
This device isn’t big enough for our friends to be able
to see and hear outside the Fort.
This is a prototype.
A prototype is an early version of our design solution
that will help us figure out if our idea is working.
So here’s the design Squeaks and I came up with.
This device will raise a flag over the Fort when we want our friends to come over.
And when we’re ready for some alone time, we can lower the flag again.
[Squeaks squeaks]
Oh, how does it work?
Well, do you see this little box, Squeaks?
This is a kind of a camera, called a sensor, that can see different colors.
Watch what happens when you hold something yellow up to the sensor!
[Squeaks squeaks]
That’s right! It makes it pretty easy to raise the flag.
But what if we want to put it back down again?
Let’s see what happens when you hold a blue brick up to the sensor instead.
Squeaks, I think this design fits our needs perfectly.
It lets us send a signal, this flag, when we want our friends to come and hang out.
And we can easily turn it off when we don’t need it.
But I think you made a really good point about it being small.
We’ll need to use something else to build the next version, so that it’s much bigger.
Engineers do that, too!
They’re always asking what aspects of their design can be made better.
They test out designs to see what works, and then they make improvements.
So, how would you improve our design?
And what other problems can you solve by thinking like an engineer?
Thanks for joining us today!
This episode of SciShow Kids was brought to you by LEGO Education.
Here’s my friend Hank to tell you more!
LEGO Education is rethinking learning with fun and engaging solutions
that allow students to build important STEAM and social-emotional skills
while learning through purposeful play.
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students in grades one to five build 21st century skills like critical thinking,
creativity, and collaboration through problem-solving and storytelling.
SPIKE Essential includes 5 playful curriculum units
packed with hours of standards-aligned content.
This includes projects like Big Little Helper.
Daniel has way too much stuff in his locker to carry home,
so students will have to design, build and program their own unique robot
to help him gather his stuff and carry it all home.
Each set comes in a classroom-ready, sturdy storage box
with 449 LEGO bricks and hardware.
Plus, each set is designed to be shared by up to two students at a time.
SPIKE Essential is part of the new LEGO Learning System,
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to support every student on their learning journey.
Click the link in the description to learn more about how LEGO Education solutions
can engage all learners, build their confidence,
and spark a lifelong love of learning.
[♪ OUTRO]