In this condensed and stimulating three day STEM camp our participants will study the logic of mathematics and will design and construct either an electronic greeting card or build and programme a working model of a radar system. These projects have been developed specifically for this camp by LondonSMP’s R&D team and pupils will be able to take their creations home with them.
In Robotics, Programming and Electronics, whether your child is already a confident programmer or just starting out, we will create the most appropriate small working group for them, based on their age and experience, with a pupil to teacher ratio of six to one. Each group of participants is taught in their own separate classroom to maximise the learning opportunity.
During this camp, younger pupils will make an electronic Jubilee greeting card. Participants will design their card and construct it with electronic components inside that control a set of LED lights. The card's design will explore the combination of lights and paper forms that achieve the best visual results. To make it work, pupils will learn the basics of electricity, including understanding conductors and dielectrics, simple electric circuits, types of connection and power sources. Pupils will enjoy the hands-on experience of making the right connections, testing their ‘product’ and completing the card.
Older pupils will work on the construction, operation and graphic interface of their working radar model. The progressive stages of the project are:
participants will learn how an ultrasonic sensor, working in tandem with a servo motor, can be used to create radar. In this project the servo motor rotates the ultrasonic sensor from 0 to 180 degrees to survey the area in front of it. At the same time, the ultrasonic sensor estimates the distance to an object in front of it at step of the servomotor's step
pupils will learn how to programme the speed of the servo motor to make it variable and how electronic connections can be made using a ‘breadboard’
as the project unfolds, pupils will learn the basics of ESP8266 development with Arduino IDE and gain hands-on experience with servo motors, ultrasonic sensors and wire connectors
the physics of ultrasonic distance estimation principles will be taught and pupils will make distance calculations themselves before implementing these in the source code
the software side of the project relates to questions of data visualization. We will use the Processing programming environment to receive data from the device via a Serial Port. Pupils will learn from an example of code so they understand how to join two decimal values on the device side, pack them into a String and send this to the PC. They will then receive this information inside the Processing program, unpack it and use it to create a graphic visualization of the data received
pupils will also enjoy the experience of the mechanics of building the whole system themselves
The Programming, Robotics and Electronics curriculum for this camp has been devised by Dr Pavel Orlov. Pavel holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Eastern Finland and has authored more than 50 academic papers. At Imperial College, within the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Pavel developed a system to teach programming in augmented reality. Pavel’s academic interests include human-computer and human-robot interaction, including writing software to help people with physical disabilities perform daily tasks using ‘gaze patterns’. In 2018 Pavel was appointed Head of R&D and Learning in Robotics at LondonSMP.
In Maths, we will explore the world of logic. By year groups, participants will study:
Years 3-6
Our younger pupils will study logic and learn how it is the main reasoning tool for solving problems. Camp participants will start by looking at traditional number puzzles, where they will need to sift through various options at each step of the problem solving process. They will then move to questions about relationships between different sets.
Finally we will embark on the famous mathematical problems about truth-telling knights and lying knaves. Knights and Knaves is a type of logic puzzle where some characters can only answer questions truthfully, and others only falsely. The name was coined by Raymond Smullyan in his 1978 work, ‘What Is the Name of This Book?’, though the concept is far older. These topics will provide a rich introduction to the rules of logic.
Year 7-11
The study of science and scientific progress requires more than just experiments and measurements. Deduction based on clear logic leads to theorems and principles that describe our world better than we were able to before. Camp participants in these year groups will look at a network of statements connected to each other by the principles of logic and how they can create abstract spaces that have consequences in our everyday life.
Pupils will learn by working with Dienes logic sets, visit the island of ‘lying knaves and truthful knights’ and find hidden errors in arguments. Is it true? Learn how to prove or disprove a statement, formulate your own conjecture and justify it - in other words, come and learn how to spin the fabric of science.
Format and fees for the senior face to face camp:
- pupil to teacher ratio of 6:1
- participants are taught in small groups, tailored by similarity of age and ability, in individual classrooms
- camp times: 10am to 3pm
- or from 9am for an extra hour of problem solving and/or from 3pm to 4pm with our chess class. There is a supplement of £25 for each additional session booked
- fees are £370 for three days. It is not possible to join for a shorter period
Places are limited, please register your interest HERE.