Take a favorite childhood toy — Lego blocks — add wheels and motors and elementary school children, and out pops a Fairfax County Public Schools Adult and Community Education (ACE) program, afterschool "Robotics."

Eight Oakton Elementary School students and second-grade teacher, Steven Goehrke, gather around a conference table two days a week for eight and a half weeks, constructing motorized Lego models that test scientific processes. The students, seven boys and one girl, pair off and create "simple machines" using kits designed by the Lego company. The projects range from a miniature car built for power and speed to fishing rods.

"I signed up because it seems scientific, and since I like science, I decided to join," said fifth-grader, Allan Phillips. "Two of my friends in my class are in it, too.

"I’ve learned how to change gears on a car to make it go faster and stronger. I also learned how to build a street sweeper car that uses gears and a fishing rod."

The project of April 1 was dedicated to adjusting the gears of a Lego "car" to generate more power than speed. The children built a "sled," towed behind their vehicles, that supported increasing weights. Goehrke supplied books, each weighing approximately one-half pound. Books were added in increments to the sled until the car could no longer pull them.

Goehrke explains that a larger gear pushing a smaller one results in greater speed; a smaller gear pushing a larger one promotes power. The participants met in a classroom when the term first began, but Goehrke thought it would benefit them more to sit at a "big table so they can look across it and see what everyone else is doing."

Allan’s friend and classmate, Santiago Campos-Lopez, said he "always thought robots were a wonder."

"I wanted to know how they worked, so I thought this would help me learn more about them. It’s pretty interesting."

The Phillips/Campos-Lopez Lego car, with the smaller gear pushing the larger gear, managed to pull two pounds of library books. A counterweight, a heavier Lego piece, was added to the car after the vehicle did "wheelies" when weight was added to the sled.

Third-grader, Olivia Brooks, doesn’t mind being the only girl. She likes it, she said. "I like to build stuff, machines."



GOEHRKE, who also coordinates the school’s "Odyssey of the Mind" program, was approached by the PTA to run the robotics program. He structures the scheduling of projects to appeal to the students’ excitement level. "This is actually the 11th project," said Goehrke. "We skipped over the earlier ones because once the kids saw the motors, they really wanted to use them. We can do the projects in whatever order we want." He describes the enrichment program as an "exploration of simple machines."

"The idea is not for them to come here and build Lego things, but to learn how simple machines work. At home, the kids need their own motivation. Here, I push them to achieve. When they fail, I say, ‘OK, let’s fix it.’"

The fee-based robotics enrichment program is in its first year and is currently offered at three Fairfax County elementary schools. It is a part of the regular instructional program of county middle schools, said Britt Weaver, marketing specialist for ACE. Most ACE programs are self-supporting and the expense of the individual Lego kits, as well as the wages of the teacher, justify the $200 registration fee, Weaver said.

For the children at Oakton Elementary, the next several sessions will engage them in the construction of a motorized drag racer and a hammering machine.

Zeid Abudiab - fourth grade, Olivia Brooks - third grade, Santiago Campos-Lopez – fifth grade, Jacob Nathan – third grade, Allan Phillips – fifth grade, Hugo Samson – fifth grade, Alexander Tudan – fourth grade, and Robbie Warrick – fourth grade, participate in the robotics program at Oakton.

"I like Legos," said Alexander Tudan. "I didn’t believe it’d be real robotics, but I like building things."

For more information on Fairfax County Public Schools Adult and Community Education enrichment programs, see www.fcps.edu/aceclasses. Full-day kids’ camps focusing on programs ranging from world languages and the arts to fitness and science exploration run during the summer months. Go to www.fcps.edu/aceclasses/KidsandTeens.htm for camp details.