STE(A)M Presentation at Portola Elementary School

Today R2 and I were invited to give a STE(A)M talk at Portola Elementary School in Irvine, CA. Droid #2 was able to get out of the house for this visit. There were two assemblies in the school's multipurpose room. The first was for 3rd/4th grades, and the second was for 5th/6th grades. Both assemblies consisted of at least six classrooms each.

I prepared a presentation where I touched on how the R2 build involved all aspects of STE(A)M. For Science, I discussed build materials, and spent some time explaining how I used a two-part mixture to create resin parts, and how they cured and hardened from a clear liquid to a white solid in about 15 minutes in the mold. For Technology, I talked about the electronics used to control R2, such as the transmitter, receiver and speed controller. For Engineering, I discussed programming I've done on the sound system, and dome and sound automation circuit, and demoed both. I also touch on the Art of R2, and how Ralph McQuarrie's concept art and R2's final design made him look interesting to me, and inspired me to want my own droid. Finally, for Math I explained gear ratios using an animation that showed how a 6-tooth gear will cause an 18-tooth gear to spin 3x more slowly, thus effectively reducing the speed of the motor.



At the end of both presentations I took questions, and each class got a group picture with R2. Everyone seemed to enjoy learning about R2, and we enjoyed the visit.