Little Scientist's - RC Robotics 101 Sunday Workshop, Birthday Parties - NOW OPEN

On July 27th, Mississauga.com (also known as Mississauga News) Video News Anchor Nadia interviewed Daniel Chun, coach and founder of Little Scientist Club and have presented our various Junior Robotics workshops, in particular the Vex Robotics Programming Workshops on Wednesday.

To see the video, please click here to see the 2 minute coverage on video news of a 40 MB file

Thank you for your interest in our 2006 SUMMER CAMPS. We have a very fruitful 2006 whereby we have new students focusing on learning programming and also getting introduced to Lego Mindstorms robotics. Some of the students joined us to compete in the First Lego League. Did we tell you that our Little Scientist was Ontario's First Indepdent Team to ever join First Lego League in 2005 ? Yes, we are quite proud of that as we can offer opportunities to youths that does not belong to a certain school to learn and join the excitement in JUNIOR ROBOTICS competition in Canada.

We do look forward to an exciting all new 2007 SUMMER ROBOTICS CAMP. Come back for more information or simply call Daniel Chun  at 905-7822888 or email at info@littlescientist.net

Clear type switch
Clear switch with green transparent parts adds a cool, futuristic look.

Walking the Beetle
Run on flat, smooth surfaces. Avoid running over slopes or on bumpy roads. Enclose the beetle in 4 walls to have it run around in the same space.

Basic Specifications
* Total length: 195mm
* Total weight: 110g (w/ out batteries)
* Body material: ABS resin
* 2 possible different speeds.
* Gearbox, motor, reverse switch also included.
* Requires one R6/AA/UM3 battery.
* Continuous running time with Alkaline battery: 3hrs. at low speed/2hrs. at high speed.

Walks while swinging its horn to avoid obstacles This amazing beetle-robot walks with its four legs while swinging its horn. When it bumps into an obstacle, it turns around automatically and will continue walking. Horn, legs and body on which the gearbox is mounted employ transparent-colored parts, giving the beetle a funky look. Reverse switch is also transparent, giving you a peek at the beetle's internal mechanisms. Assembly is very simple with use of screws and snap-lock parts.

All you need is included. Assembly is very simple with use of screws and snap-lock parts. Cable ends are rubber capped with cut areas pre-marked for easy wiring. Walks while swinging its horn A link rod attached to the front right leg allows the horn to move right and left and when it bumps into an obstacle, the beetle automatically turns to avoid it.

Low speed, high speed, choice between two gearboxes You can choose between 2 different running speeds. A reverse switch also allows backward movement.

Getting oneself organised and planning each step is part of our curriculum. Look at the different small parts of this robotic beetle. We supervised and provide mentorship in planning each steps and learn how to read the provided instruction - a simplified version of engineering diagram to build the robot one step at a time. If it's wrong, we motivated the youth to go back one or more steps. We follow the roots and trace where the problem is during the building process. This kind of training is therefore instinctively programmed to the youth.

Most children know a switch is one attached to the wall at our room, and also found in the front panel of any electronics. Having an opportunity to build a switch and see how the contact points meet and completing a electronic circuit to make the robot works is indeed very useful. Learning by fabrication as well as from why does it not work is the most important part.

You wouldn't know how many parents and their childrens come to us for help (sometimes desperately) just to have a last minute costly fix to a science project. Most of the times, it involves gears, wheels, shaft and generally a drive line.  The gear box shown above is by no means a super duper state of the art gearbox but definitely one that educates a lot more than what our current school syllabus does when comes to building science projects that we have heard of or seen (eg. windmill, a car, a garage door, a lift, a crane, etc).

Take control of your insect

Now you can control where your robot will go. Thanks to a 2-channel remote control, you can make your mechanical insect move forward/backward or make it turn to the left and to the right. Everything needed to assemble your model is included.

The kit features 2 gearboxes, one for each set of legs. The remote-control circuit is pre-wired to the motor and the gearboxes are pre-assembled to achieve ease of assembly. Two gearboxes for liberty of movement The Mechanical Insect is equipped with two gearboxes, one that controls the right hand side legs and one that controls the left hand side legs.

After many testing, Little Scientist found the perfect mod to upgrade the crystal without the original funny looking crystal set from VexRobotics or RadioShack.  Our VexRobotics inventory for running our Robotics workshops happened to be all CH.61 (Odd for RadioShack to do that in USA, but I know exactly why, they want you to purchase additional and optional Frequency Chip or commonly known as Crystal sets) ...Anyway...read on..

The crystal is a FM 75Mhz for surface use and it is the same as FUTABA. As we are affilated with BoyToys - the fastest and most creative hobby store in Ontario, Canada and we simply modified it, by openining up the Vex Robotics Transmitter Case and solder a standard crystal recepticle (Note: VEXROBOTICS's TX Crystal is non standard and made such a way that you have to use their crystal upgrade set). We don't have access with RadioShack nor VexRobotics here in Canada, so going to a local RadioShack is useless anyway, so we just made our own.

We actually tested all other single, dual conversion crystals from KO PROPO, JR, Airtronics, Hitec and finally it was actually FUTABA FM 75Mhz

Little Scientist Club is delighted to offer the following One Day drop in activity for 2006 Summer Camp. Please note that our Summer Camp programs are offered in July and August only. Please review and find out what is best suited for your children. All programs are offered only to 8-15 years old. Drop off is at 10 am and pickup is at 3 pm. 7% GST will be added to all program fees and are non-refundable. Late fees will also be levied when parents are late for pickup. Registration is open in 3rd week of May on a first come first served basis.

Workshops are offered Monday to Friday (except for public holiday and long weekends) and Workshops can be scheduled to start on any given day.

Parents should provide their children their own lunch and refreshments (Absolutely no nuts please).  We do not serve food or drinks for safety reasons. While we have clean bathroom amenities, parents should advise us of any allergy or medical situations for your child. For safety and convenience purpose, we provide webcams that parents can use during classes to observe their children in class.

RC Robots 101 (Sunday, 4 sessions, $225, 9 -11 am, 11-1pm, 1-3 pm)
Parents can choose either four sundays or completing the workshop within the 4 sessions) Prior appointment is required for this workshop. Make sure you have register with us first.

Basic Hands On Skills Meter

Next Level - Yes
Tamiya Robotic Rover, Tamiya Robots Competition, First Lego League Competition in Ontario, March Camps, Summer Camps, Mindstorms NXT, Vex Robotics and RobotC

Little Scientist Club's unique workshops have inspired a lot of youths aged 7-15 getting theirs hands working with constructing machines, little robocrafts, meccanos and many other unique projects. Parents also makes bookings for our services as a form of entertainment for birthday parties.

DIY Tamiya RoboCrafts - a project kit where youths learn to build a switch, a gearbox, a battery compartment, various cams and connect all mechanical linkages. This is the most popular educational product in Japan. Youths can keep the kit and materials for future use in various science project.

By LittleScientist at 2007-01-27 16:07 | read more

RC ROBOTICS 101 (Starts Every Sunday, 4 sessions, 9-11 am, $200+GST, Certificate of Achievement)

Moderate Hands On Skills Meter

Next Level - Yes
Vex Robotics Curriculum, Vex Competition in Ontario, RobotC

Overview

Beginning in November, students can join this workshop and begin their dicovery in Remote Controlled or Radio Controlled Robots (much like a Mars Rover).

The workshops consists of 4 sundays (except for long weekend) and time is 9-11 am. This program welcomes local youths aged 8-15 to join us for 4 sundays to learn everything about radio controlled robots, all electronic, gears, crank, tools, fasteners, program logic controller, servo and sub-systems

Different than learning at a classroom, youths can practice their HANDS ON learning with a step by step approach and under the supervision of our fully trained staff.