Lego Stormers

Mayan Adventure Camp

2009-07-05T04:25:30Z

One week robotics camp where fun and science come together to create a week your child will never forget. Each day is filled with learning to build and program robots using LEGO NXT Mindstorms robotics kits. Led by experienced youth who love creating robots with LEGO Mindstorms.

This is a great camp for kids who want to learn to build and program robots. Working as part of a small team (maximum 4 per team), each day they will design, build and program a robot to explore a new room in a Mayan Temple. By the end of the week everyone will have built robots, created programs and have a folder of reference information with pictures of their robot.

Dates: July 27 to July 31
Times: 9:00 - 3:30

Before and after care available from 8:30 to 5:00pm at a cost of $25.
It may be possible that the camp will be offered a 2nd time at the end of August. Please let us know if you are interested but can't attend the July week.

Ages: 9 years and up
Location: Colwood

Cost: $100
All equipment will be supplied.

Please make cheques payable to Victoria Robotics Club. Fees payable at time of registration.

Registration limited to 12 campers. You will be notified on July 22 if there isn't sufficient registration to run the camp.

Registration fees are non-refundable except for medical reasons. It may be possible to fill a spot if there is a waitlist. A $25 processing fee will charged.

Attention Parents
If there is sufficient interest, parents can form their own team to learn how to build and program robots too!

Programs are available for all skill levels from Beginner (no experience) to Intermediate (built and program some NXT Robots), or Advanced (lots of experience with LEGO robots and looking to learn advanced skills).

What to Bring

Wear comfortable clothes. Bring a hat and sunscreen since the kids will be outside for an hour at lunch. The kids will be running around and playing games.

Bring a lunch, water bottle and food for morning and afternoon snacks. Please pack lunches using reusable containers if possible.

Do NOT include peanuts or tree nuts with lunches.

How to Register

Send us an email.
phone Peggy at 250-380-7361

Campers must bring a completed Mayan Adventure Robotics Camp form with them to camp on the first day.

Mayan Adventure Camp Rules

We believe it’s important that everyone has the best time possible while at camp. The rules are to ensure the safety, protection and comfort of all campers. It’s a good idea to go over these rules with your child before he/she comes to camp, to make sure he/she knows and understands what is expected. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in consequences and resolution involving the camper, parents and Leaders.

There will be no electronic equipment (walkmans, discmans, gameboys, cell phones, etc.) knives, toy guns, or lighters at camp. These items are not inclusive to everyone in our camp community and will distract from working with robots and as part of a team. If your child must bring a cell phone, it is should be turned off and remain in their backpack at all times.
Parents are welcome to stay and observe the camp activities. It's fun to arrive around 3pm and watch the scoring rounds for the robot.
For your child's safety she/he must not leave the property without being signed out by someone listed on the form as allowed to pick up your child.

And finally, the most important rule: Have fun at camp!

Poem for FLL 2008

2009-01-09T03:59:22Z

Twas the Night Before

'Twas the night before the Tournament, and all through the house
Not a computer was stirring, not even a mouse.

The children were tucked up all snug in their beds
While visions of robots danced round in their heads.

The coach, she was sleepless and pacing the hall
wondering how many points or would they score them all?

Would any team actually turn the Arrows?
Getting to the Ice Buoy can be awfully narrow.

Will that House give us some grief?
The money ball is difficult beyond belief.

What will raise the Core Drilling rig?
Will the robot start straight even with a jig?

The people can be so hard to place,
And the levees may be hit by a storm in a race.

Stormy’s Net needs mending, but the hook is a dream
no easy task for this interesting team.

Solving the Connections was no surprise
but the robot spins round and round before our eyes.

And as for the project, we’ll see how it will go
We’ve studied and practiced to put on a good show.

Our T-shirts are splendid, we can certainly cheer
and we’re already starting to plan for next year!

So we’ll all pull together, because we’re a team
And we hope, on the day, it’ll go like a dream!

This was edited by Katherine Silversides
With deference and thanks to Clement Clarke Moore and the coaches who started this idea.

Night before Tournament Poem

2008-12-06T01:34:16Z

‘Twas the night before tourney
And all through the house
Not a computer was stirring
Not even a mouse

The robots were tucked
All snug in their case
In hopes of great missions
Launched from home base

The kids were in jammies
The coach, she was too
Wondering if their hard work
was enough to get through

When down in the basement
There arose such a clatter
Coach jumped from her bed
To see what was the matter

Away to the door
She flew like a flash
Turned on the light
Then there was a CRASH!

The fluorescent lights
Shimmering down on the clock
Gave a sight to behold
For coach and peacock

For what to her wondering eyes
Should appear
But a bevy of elves
With a cold case of beer

More rapid than DSL
Those little guys came
They whistled and shouted
And called out their names

Now! Codeman! Now Sensor!
Now, Tester and MayGo!
On, Robust ! On, Wheeler!
On, Teamwork and Lego!

To the top of the stairs
And open the gate
Now test away, test away
Fix that wheel mate.

With gracious professionalism
And a wink of their eye
They met each obstacle
With a cheer and a cry

So up to the table
Those little guys flew
The robot fed dinner
For elves and birds too

And then they jumped down
No one got hurt
Stormy pushed in the chairs
And swept up the dirt

One was dressed in red
Another is blue
But most were in black
With a few in grey, too

A bag full of beams
They flung on the table
They engineered, fixed
And mended where able

Their eyes how they twinkled
As they sucked back the drinks
All over 21
Clearly, methinks

They chattered and laughed
Until the wee hours
Working marvels and wonders
On that robot of ours

Suddenly and sadly
As quickly as that
They undid their work
And tidied the mat

Then being fuel efficient
elves that they are
In the hydrogen car
they headed somewhere afar

Driving out in the night
A chorus of elves
sang "Sorry sweet children
You must do it yourselves"

Written by Christine Nicholls

With deference and thanks to Clement Clarke Moore

In case you were confused, a Peahen raised her chicks in the field behind my house that year. The room with our practice table looks right into the field. The team spent lots of time watch the peachicks throughout the fall.

Polar Game

2008-12-05T04:47:26Z

One of our original team members is too old to be part of the team this year. Rather than miss out on all the fun, he's created a game based on the Climate Connections theme.

Click on the Earth to download the game to your PC.

Author: Ian Leslie

The "Polar Game" is a fun 10 Level game where you have to save the earth by collecting energy saving objects while also solving puzzles and dodging cars that will run you over if you give them the chance. In short "Survive and save the earth!"

The game will end after you finish Level 10, or you can hit esc if you want to end at a lower level.

The game is in .exe format. When you start the download, you may receive a warning about the potential for viruses because of the .exe format. The file was scanned for viruses before it was loaded to our website.

Curved Breakwater

2008-11-18T03:13:39Z

The solution we came up with for the erosion problem at Esquimalt Lagoon was a curved breakwater. It would be made of a clear material and have holes at intervals to allow water through. The side that would be facing the ocean would look like a crescent moon so as to neutralize the wave energy and rebound the waves onto themselves.

Disadvantages

It would have to above the height of the high water level and people would see it.
In a storm, there would be lots of water moving at high speeds that could effect other areas.
More work needs to be done to figure out what it should be made from, what would be the best shape, and the footprint on the ocean floor.
A solid structure breakwater will change the shape of the beach.
Increased costs?

Advantages

The power of the waves should be dissipated into the ocean and not onto the beach.
The breakwater will allow water to move around it so that water will still be able to flow in and out of the lagoon.
It could be designed with a walk way for pedestrians, creating a opportunity for tourism.
It's an innovative solution that our team came up with!

We think the breakwater would have to be 150 meters long to protect the north end of the spit. Unfortunately, we don't have a cost estimate.

Landroids from New Jersey

2008-11-13T01:20:45Z

Our team contacted the Landroids from New Jersey. They had chosen beach erosion caused storms for their project too.

They chose point Harvey Cedars as a case study area to learn about the local impacts, funding, politics and engineering solutions. On a stormy, rainy, windy day, the Landroids met the Harvey Cedar Mayor on the beach, to witness first hand how the storm can damage the shoreline. The team also presented to the mayor their ideas and concerns. They also visited Surf City to see what a completed beach replenish project looked like, and how the sand can migrate to Barnegat Lighthouse.

The Landroids thought we should look at WhisprWave®, a floating breakwater.

Traditional breakwaters, seawalls and jetties have failed primarily because they reflect or direct wave energy in destructive ways or concentrate it in local hot spots. Erosion problems and the scouring effects of the misdirected energy lead to the loss of beach / coastline and undermine the structures that were meant to be protected.

In addition, other fixed structures such as groins lead to the loss of natural flows in down-drift beaches by interrupting the littoral flows of sand and generally create a surplus condition on the up-drift side and a starvation condition on the down-drift beaches.

The WhisprWave® is designed to remedy the limitations of traditional breakwaters, seawalls and jetties. The WhisprWave® can be set in any depth of water, but is particularly effective at 20foot depths and less, believed to encompass most in-shore erosion problems. Unlike other systems, it has complete portability and does not require major construction to move it. This flexibility greatly enhances its usefulness at sites that are subject to possible changes in needs and requirements.

Beach Erosion Around the World

2008-11-05T14:37:59Z

Pacifica, California coast after major storms in 1997 destroyed the houses shown above.
The very soft cliffs that are being easily eroded .

They are putting in brake waters in to try to help the erosion stop

Many stretches of the East Anglia, England coastline are prone to heavy of erosion, such as this collapsed section of cliffs at Hunstanton, Norfolk.
They are trying to stop it by putting groynes and other artificial measures to keep it under control but all it did was speed up the erosion.

Artificial Reef in Australia

Australia's Gold coast city has beach erosion problems and it threatens to destroy one of the roads leading to surf reefs. Ken Lambert invented a giant sloped triangle and put it in the water and it stopped the eroding on the beach and road.

The reef was made of car tires and heavy duty plastic straps.

The place of the artificial reef was, give take or a few meters.

Benefits
In addition too providing the potential for beach restoration and great waves, in an easily accessible place the design was:

cheap
impact absorbing
easily shaped and modified
well anchored structure
A robust structure which could survive the huge cyclonic seas that visit this area
A structure that would be relatively impervious to boat anchors and boat propellers
A structure not prone to sinking into the sand
A robust structure with cheap easily replaceable modules
Additionally the vertical tunnels and spaces between the columns, that were not filled by the natural movement of sand, would provide a safe attractive habitat for small fish and other aquatic organisms
Another environmental gain was that the Gold Coast's over supply of used tyres would be recycled into a non-polluting economically advantageous project

Weather and the Coburg Peninsula

2008-11-05T14:22:01Z

The north end of the Coburg Peninsula Did shelters the bridge and the entrance to the lagoon from high waves.

All through January 2008, there were high tides.

There had been some rainfall that drained from the Colwood delta into the lagoon. The rainfall created high water levels on the lagoon side of the peninsula.

On January 4, 2008, there was a high wind storm. The winds were from a different direction then normal West winds. These high winds, coming from a different direction, changed the direction of the waves.

These waves crashed over the north end of the spit causing erosion around the bridge and reduced the height of the barrier spit by 1 meter.

The lowered height and reduced size of the barrier spit is less effective in acting as a breakwater protecting the mouth of the lagoon.

photo credit: bridsofafeather.ca

This Photo is of the spit before the storms

Esquimalt Lagoon

2008-10-26T00:15:29Z

For the Research Project, out team is looking at the recent storm damage to the north end of the Esquimalt Lagoon.

Esquimalt Lagoon is a Migratory Bird Sanctuary located in Colwood, just outside Victoria BC. Esquimalt Lagoon made up of a large area of open water. The fresh water in the lagoon comes from 13 streams that drain the Colwood delta. The salt water comes in from the ocean at high tide.

This area is protected by the long, sandy beach that makes up the Coburg Peninsula. A road runs along the centre of the peninsula and there is a bridge at the north end.

Climate Connections

2008-10-01T02:14:24Z

On September 5, FIRST LEGO League announced this year's Climate Connections Challenge. The kids work as a team to design a robot to complete over 20 missions and do some scientific research. This year's challenge is to find out about your local climate, and then find a another community anywhere in the world that shares your climate challenges.

Our 2008 team has started meeting and came up with their name, the Weather Stormers. And now, the season begins...

How much CO2 is in our electricity?

2007-12-29T19:19:37Z

BC Hydro electricity comes from hydro dams which produce 24 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt hour (kWh) . These dams don’t produce all of the electricity we use in British Columbia (BC). The BC government imports about 12% of our electricity from Alberta.

Alberta produces electricity from a mix of coal and gas which produces 861 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt hour. The BC government buys it in the early morning hours when it is really cheap. The gas and coal burners take a lot of energy to start up again, so they have to run them 24 hours a day. There are very few electricity users in the middle of the night, so Alberta sells the electricity at cheap rates because there is no demand.

The BC government buys cheap electricity (created with CO₂ pollution) to sell it at a higher price. They do it to make money!

If we reduce our electricity consumption and we stop the government buying electricity, we’ll reduce our carbon footprint.

Find out how to save Electricity

Treehugger.com
This website is good for people who have already taken the first steps and want to learn more about reducing electricity consumption. They have ideas like using a solar battery charger to recharge batteries for toys and other electronic items like cameras.

BC Hydro
This website recommends things that will save electricity. There are tips to save energy, quizzes about your energy use, and information about rebates and saving money.

101 easy ways to save (eletricity)
It is good because there are 101 suggestions on it.

Tell us what your think.

Did you know BC imports electricity from Alberta? Did you know that Alberta's electricity creates so much CO₂?

2007 Power Puzzle Challenge

2007-10-04T19:16:50Z

On September 5, FLL announced this year's Power Puzzle Challenge. The kids work as a team to design a robot to complete up to 14 missions and do some scientific research. Everything is on the theme of energy management and conservation.

FLL Next Year

2006-11-28T21:23:51Z

The Nano Stormers are looking forward to next year. Here are some ideas we have of things to do differently.

Bring our own mat at missions so that we could have more practice and make changes if necessary
Learn more advanced programming throughout the year.
Make sure to meet with experts.
Prepare a robot presentation for the technical interview

FLL Tournament Day

2006-11-28T21:21:50Z

The Nano Stormers competed in the British Columbia First Lego League tournament on Nov. 25. Here are some things we think we did right on tournament day.

Winning the Teamwork Trophy
Having fun in the teamwork interview
Saying our team cheer after a bad robot run
All team members were on time for every event.
Having a box of food at the pit
Everyone having a water bottle
Hanging around the pit so that we could talk to officials that stopped by.
Taking our display, robot, and photo album to all interviews. The officials had things to look at and ask questions about.
Planning on staying for the metals and awards

Other Teams

2006-11-28T21:17:31Z

The Nano Stormers competed in the British Columbia First Lego League tournament on Nov. 25. Here are some things we liked about the other teams and their robots.

Strategy for robot runs
Alignment was predictable or not important
Long sleeved shirts would be warmer
Robot crawling over the bone
Long or tall attachments were faster than driving the robot around.
Displays used two tri-panel boards
Team pins to hand out to other teams.
Fast robots seemed to score higher than slow robots
Robots using tracks were slower than robots with wheels
Programs use branch logic or loops, not just sequential.
Use sensors to increase accuracy
Have all references listed on one page