QC Family Focus: December 2015

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Education Robotics And STEM Combining Science, Technology, Engineering And Math Into A New Kind Of Sport! Evin Ersan Junior Reporter for QC Family Focus Magazine STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The whole STEM movement came out of the concern that not enough kids were interested in engineering and related studies. One of the ways that STEM is being addressed in a fun way is LEGO ® Robotics. Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, was one of the main pioneers for this program. Dean felt that kids needed a fun way to get hooked on engineering, so he reached out to the LEGO ® company. His idea was to use a popular toy to introduce the concepts of STEM. Together with LEGO ® , he created a new type of educational sport where kids could use a robotic motor, build attachments with LEGO ® toys, and accomplish tasks and missions that involved a variety of core STEM concepts. In 1998, the FIRST LEGO ® League (FLL ® ) was born, and kids around the world have been benefiting from the program ever since. My sister and I took basic and advanced robotics in grade _school and really loved it. Now my sister, who’s in sixth grade, is involved in a higher level of robotics where they compete. Teams are made up of 10 people, and each team is required to complete specific missions with their robot. Mission tasks involve: • Put together a pre-design board for the robot to run on. • Assemble LEGO ® pieces that go on the board. The map for the board pieces is very specific, so the kids must make sure their building details are correct. • Go over the missions, and come up with a game plan on how to accomplish their goals. • Build attachments for their robots from LEGO ® components to help them complete their missions. • Program their robots to complete missions in a specific amount of time. Even though some teams pick the same missions, they carry out tasks differently and use different programming methods and LEGO ® attachments. The teams get pretty creative! Each year, the FLL ® has a big competition with a theme. This year’s theme is all about trash. All of the missions have to do with robots accomplishing task related to trash, like recycling and repurposing. Teams are also required to complete a project where they 14 December 2015 - QC Family Focus come up with a trash problem and solution. A lot of time and effort goes into these projects and teams give formal presentations to FLL ® judges during the competition. Teams are judged on their missions and projects, but it doesn’t end there! “Gracious professionalism” is a concept taught throughout the entire process, as teams prepare for the big competition event. In robotics, there’s a lot of trial and error. Students must get used to failing and trying again and again on a regular basis. They also need to learn about working in a group. When you have ten kids working together, staying organized and on-task can be difficult. Teachers, parent volunteers and mentors remind teams how to work in a professional, gracious way. On December 12 and 13, 2015, a FLL ® competition will be held at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa. I recommend this event if you’re interested in robotics or looking for new and interesting hobby. From what I’m told, sometimes kids who didn’t know they’d be interested in this kind of stuff wind up getting the robotics bug! America needs more scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians. Learning about robotics could be a great way for you to find out if any of those careers might be right for you. If you’re a student interested in robotics, ask your school counselor or administrator what programs might be available to you. Thanks go to my sister Ela Ersan, and my mother, Kristel Ersan, for their input into this article. Ela is on the Hopewell FLL ® robotics team and my mother is assisting with the coaching of my sister’s team. For more information on FLL ® , visit http:// firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2015TrashTrek and http:// sbpli-lifirst.org/FLL/history-founder-dean-kamen.html. For more information on Robotics and STEM check out Evin’s video report on the QC Family Focus Facebook page.
Dedication What’s Philanthropy? Introducing the Three W’s Tawnya Hambly Senior Director, Marketing & Special Events Junior Achievement of the Heartland The holiday season is a time for giving. Many times people will exchange gifts for fun, but have you ever thought about giving to help others? That type of giving is called philanthropy. Let’s take a closer look at this word and understand how it can make a difference in our lives. Philanthropy is giving to others in an effort to increase the wellbeing of people. It is a method of sharing. Some people may think the only way to give is to provide money, but there are other options. People help others by giving any of the three W’s. Do you know what the three W’s in philanthropy are? ● Wealth (giving money) ● ● Work (volunteering to help) Wisdom (giving others the benefit of your knowledge) To better understand the three W’s related to philanthropy, let’s do the following activity. Activity 1: Let’s pretend a horrible storm went through a portion of the Midwest causing many people to lose their homes due to the damage. Families have to stay in temporary shelters. They are without their personal belongings and don’t know when their area will be safe again to start rebuilding. Can you think of ways you could help the victims of the storm? Write ideas for each W on the space provided below. Wealth: Do you have money to give? If not, how could you make money to help? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Work: What work could you do to help others? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Wisdom: Do you have knowledge from which others could benefit? You might surprise yourself with the talents you have that could help someone else. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Good work! Share your ideas with an adult. Ask them of ways they have helped others through work or wisdom. You might think philanthropy is to only help the poor and needy, but that’s not true. Sometimes it is about increasing the wellbeing of people in other areas, such as education, religion, health or other good causes. Organizations that depend on philanthropy are usually referred to as nonprofit organizations. They do not participate in markets like businesses because they do not seek a profit. Instead, they rely on the generosity of people to help support their work. One example of a nonprofit is Junior Achievement. JA is an organization that promotes education about business, economics and free enterprise. JA teaches students, like you, about important concepts related to work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. People and businesses donate money to JA (wealth) and teach JA classes (work and wisdom). Activity 2: Can you think of other nonprofit organizations in your community? Who provides the wealth, work and wisdom for the nonprofit? List your answers below. Name of Nonprofit: __________________________ _______________________________________________ Wealth: ___________________________________ _______________________________________________ Work: _____________________________________ _______________________________________________ Wisdom: ___________________________________ _______________________________________________ Being able to share with others is a good feeling. This holiday season, challenge yourself to think about philanthropy and how you can help others. No matter how you help, it will make a difference in someone else’s life. QC Family Focus - December 2015 15
Page 1 and 2: DECEMBER 2015 - Complimentary Issue
Page 3 and 4: e y at e y r- n e g d d te December
Page 5 and 6: QC Family Focus - December 2015 5
Page 7 and 8: A Perfect Holiday Gift! ONE SHOW ON
Page 9 and 10: Apps To Get You A Wise In The Inves
Page 11 and 12: A TASTY TREAT FOR THE HOLIDAYS: CHO
Page 13: Just For Kids Kid’s Calendar A Ch
Page 17 and 18: Brooke Falline R.D.H., ABC Family D
Page 19 and 20: How To Have Happy Holidays With Tee
Page 21 and 22: Looking for a fun “date night”?
Page 23 and 24: These cookies are a holiday staple!
Page 25 and 26: At Sport Clips Haircuts, It’s Goo
Page 27 and 28: Treats and Trunks Event: An Evening
Page 29 and 30: UNWRAP THE LOVE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Page 31 and 32: Interacting with a Dementia or Alzh
Page 33 and 34: Senior Star at Elmore Place Pampers
Page 35 and 36: Have an indoor space available and

QC Family Focus: December 2015

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