The aim of this project is to show the nonlinear dynamics of a vertically driven pendulum using Lego NXT. I use this toy in my Nonlinear Dynamics classroom.

Below you find building instructions and a video of the toy.

A pendulum with a fixed suspension point has two eq...

Acceleration is a physical concept that is difficult to understand, although you can feel
it when driving on a roller coaster. This sensor might help kids to realize how
acceleration can be quantified. It got its name, because it is made of a few LEGO pieces,
the RCX, and some n...

In this lesson, students will design and build a wheelchair that can hold a load about the size of a water bottle. Students will build their wheel chairs using the engineering design process and must follow specific design requirements.

This is part of the curriculum unit “Robot...

Eighth-grade students built LEGO balances that were accurate to within half a gram.

Eighth-grade students built LEGO balances that were accurate to within half a gram.

For this activity you will need an NXT brick, a wire, an NXT proximity sensor, and computers running MINDSTORMS

1. Have student design an alarm box that will detect when a person approaches the box. If students want to use more than one proximity sensor or a different sensor as we...

Does anybody have plans for a seismograph?

In this activity, a group of people use a number of RCX's to determine one another's birthdays.
See "Birthday Decoder" PDF for detailed instructions.

Picture of an underwater robot middle school students made.

In this activity, use an NXT brick equipped with two ultrasonic sensors to emulate a Theremin, an electronic instrument. One sensor will change pitch as distance to an object changes, and the other sensor will change volume as the distance to an object changes. The Theremin is meant to be played wit...