Year 8 gear up with VEX equipment! In Year 8’s Technology course, half of this year’s students have recently rotated into Robotics. These future AI engineers and tech wizards eagerly unwrapped their VEX equipment and dove right into the construction of their set designs. The theme of learning focuses on Mechanisms, or looking at the motion involved with gears, levers, pulleys, lifts, cranks and linkages.

In Year 8’s Technology course, half of this year’s students have rotated into Robotics. After these future AI engineers and tech wizards excitedly unwrapped their VEX equipment, they dove right into the construction of their set designs. The theme of learning focuses on Mechanisms, or looking at the motion involved with gears, levers, pulleys, lifts, cranks and linkages.

The focus of their first investigative lesson was specifically on gears - analysing the various commonly used types and their positive impacts in the world. Students also look into how gears help to create movement, speed and strength within mechanisms, from the cars you drive to the cogs in your computers. Simply stated, gears are everywhere and they are super important! 

To see the impact of gears first hand, Year 8 followed VEX instructions to build a Mechanical Advantage Device or M.A.D box, a mechanism that demonstrates the importance of gears and how they work. After successfully building their own M.A.D boxes, Year 8 put on their analytical caps and worked in teams to take what they have learned about gears and improve the efficiency of their designs. Of course, students are always aiming to make their mechanisms faster and with more torque (power)! 

The amazing breadth of what students can learn about Mechanisms just through their work with VEX equipment is truly impressive.

The below questions were put forward to Year 8: 

Up Next with VEX - a teacher’s perspective

As we move forward to our next lessons, we will be learning about levers to make a VEX Grabber. Identifying the core components of its function (picking objects up) and how to use it in future designs (robots). 

Collating our knowledge from the VEX M.A.D box (gears) and the VEX Grabber (levers) we will be designing a catapult from VEX parts. A competition amongst the Year 8 groups will then follow to see who can design the most effective ping pong throwing catapult.  Alongside the build, we are also using VEX Virtual reality to do some online coding so students can also code the robots for the challenge.

VEX Challenge 

This all links with the latest VEX challenge 'Pitching in'. A world-renown competition where students design their own robot to 'pitch' a ball into a scoring zone. 

Check out this recent video from the VEX IQ Thai Nationals 2021 hosted at St Andrews playing a slightly different game:

[[\media\Final STA VEX IQ 2021.mp4]]

Ultimately, VEX inspires students to be creative, leaders and to work together in teams. It creates 21st century STEM problem-solvers that can take on real-world challenges. To learn more about VEX and how it fits into our curriculum please enquire with our friendly admissions team.