Flag football takes fourth place

Congrats to our flag football team. Even though we lost our last game of the season the team fought hard. Click on the slideshow below to see bigger pics.

Edit: I removed the pics to save space for more current pictures. If you want copies of the football pictures just email me.

Best run

Here's our cleanest run for the Lego trials. We scored 75 points, which was our second highest score. We lost points though for the last task where the robot damaged the flood gate. Sorry for the shaky camera work at the end. Thanks again to IBM for sponsoring us.

Lego Trial video

Here's a video of our best trial. 95 points. We had problems each run with the putting out the levies (brown blocks at the top of the video). It worked perfectly in practice but we couldn't get it to work during the game. We had excellent consistency with pushing out the bike and insulation (first task) and delivering the polar bear, snow mobile and people. I'm really proud of our team. We even won the "Against All Odds" award for persevering in the face of adversity. I'm guessing it had to do with only having two team members who could show up on Saturday. Also, because of an order processing problem we only had 6 weeks instead of the usual three months.

Congratulations to the Boeger Bot Builders.



If you're interested in participating next year or if you want to participate in The Tech Challenge in spring, contact Mr. Buell.

Second test launch delayed

Our first test launch was a success. We already had two students whose rockets went more than 80 meters (that's over 260 feet!). Sorry, no pics this time.

The next test launch will be delayed a week. Plan on launching in the first part of the last week before vacation. The calendar has been updated. So many people take vacations the week before and after the winter break that it wouldn't have been fair to make the rockets due then. Remember, since we're outside the launch window is always in flux.

In other news, the Boeger Bot Builders just competed in the San Jose Regional Qualifier for First Lego League. Our team finished in the middle of the pack, but had a lot of fun along the way. Pics and videos in the next post.

First rocket test launch

You have your first test launch tomorrow. Don't forget to bring your three rockets.

How to build your rocket

The first thing you'll need is 1/2" pvc pipe. Our launcher uses this size for the launch tube so your rocket will need to fit on it. It should be snug but not so snug the rocket has trouble coming off.

From rockets

You want to roll the paper around the pipe and tape it. You'll end up with a nice hollow tube.

From rockets

You will need to seal the top. Leave about a half inch of paper above the pvc and fold down the paper and tape over it. If you don't seal the top, the cone will blow off.

From rockets

You'll now need to experiment with nose shapes, body size, paper weights, fin shapes and numbers. Remember you need to create three rockets that are exactly identical except for one thing. For example, make three rockets that are the same in every way (size, shape, length, paper type, fin number, fin shape) except for the shape of the nose.

From rockets

From rockets

From rockets

Mission to Mars

The rocket project has been assigned. See the calendar for your important due dates. Check back for building hints and tips. See our wikipage for the assignment handout.

Work days are days you will be working on your rocket in class. If you would like to work on it at home, you will need 1/2" pvc pipe to use as a form. Your rocket must fit on that pipe in order for it to fit on the launcher.

A launch window includes all the days we may be launching. Because of weather, I cannot say for sure what day we will be outside launching your rockets. You must be prepared on the first day of the launch window.

Boeger Grand Prix

Boeger Grand Prix pictures are up!



For this project we created our own cars out of junk around the home. The purpose was to practice calculating speed.

More importantly, we got the chance to build and test our ideas. We had two chances to test and improve our cars. In science, as in all other realms, it is important to be willing to take risks and learn from your failures.

Our next big project is rockets. We'll be creating and launching paper rockets. These rockets will go over 100 feet in the air!