We are the CETI Shanghai team that went to Shanghai Jiao Tong High Schhol and Shanghai Children's Palace. In both schools, we incorporated the LEGO Mindstorm kits in our curriculum. As we expected, the students were very fascinated by designing and building robots out of Legos, and were always coming up with new ideas.

Our first Lego activity was "just-go-ahead-and-play." It turned out the most students had never played with Legos, leave along make robots of them. So we had the students play with the pieces, and just get a feel for Legos.

We broke the class up into groups of three or four. Some students were a bit timid about "playing" with the pieces. This changed quickly within the first day.

Hesky and Roger join a group in exploring the Mindstorm kit.

So after the play session, we started off with the Mindstorm tour on the CD. The class was very impressed with the mechanized sounds effects. Here Saro and Jane learn how to attach the actuators.

The programming lesson is done on the LCD projector. The graphical programmin language was very easily picked up by the students.

This group is hard at work on their first assignment: the robot that turns around when it hits a wall.

This group is puzzling over their programming assignment: to make the RCX play a song upon the press and release of the touch sensor.

Jane, Saro, and Andy pose with their first robot assignment.

Yan Feng and Candy show Hesky how their cup holder, which activates with a touch sensor works.

Daisy makes some last minute inspections on her robot before the contest. We made up small contests during the week that focussed on various robot building skills.

Aesthetics is very important, as this robot tells us. As long as it does its job, of course...

The first contest is off. Students were asked to make the slowest moving robot using gear ratios.

More games and fun.

Hesky helps Bob securing his robot for the STURDY contest.

Olive gets ready to test her robot. The STURDY contest requires the robot to hold a piece as far away from the RCX as possible, without breaking.

And then the ultimate test. Robot ramming with each other.

At Children's Palace, the students were much more comfortable with the Legos. Children's Palace features many model building classes that are very relevant to our Mindstorm class.

Again, last minute preparations for the mini contest.

This contest, also used at Jiao Tong, consists of a 4' by 8' board. The center is marked by a black circle. Ping pong balls are placed along the center. The goal is to bring back as many balls as possible.

More contests. Our students were widely spread in ages. The Mindstorm simplicity made it possible for all to have fun.

This was our final Lego competition, which was televised by Shanghai News, and also filmed HK Lego. The board was redone with new obstacles. There are openings on all four corners, and the goal now is to push ping pong balls (twelve balls are lined up on the sides and center of the board) into your opponent's openings.