Join us!
Are you interested in learning how to solve problems using engineering and technology? Do you want to learn new things with your children? Then sign up for the Iridescent Engineering & Technology Family Club! All ages are welcome as long as they are accompanied by her/his parent. Kids cannot be dropped off. This will be a family-focused learning program. We especially encourage girls and mothers to join.
Absolutely no prior technology/engineering experience is required.
Time commitment
We will be going through three different modules over the course of the school year. You are welcome to join for any part or (ideally) all!
We will meet every Saturday from 10 AM-12 PM, starting on Sep 29th. If you miss a session, please make sure you connect with your team to catch up. If a parent cannot make it, then please make sure you check with your team to see if its ok to send your child.
Location
1700 Seaport Blvd, Redwood City
What you will need
A laptop
Curriculum
Last year some of the projects that were developed by the families included a mobile app that recommends how best to use the food in your fridge, a “care bear” on a self-driving car that can come visit and talk to children who are in the hospital and help them feel less frustrated or scared, an app for model rocketeers, and another app for martial artists that could help them practice at home.
Below is an outline of the topics and technology tools the club will cover this year. We will invite subject matter experts to come and speak to the club on each topic. In parallel, we will explore various tools such as mobile app development and basic robotics. Halfway through the year, teams will start working on their own idea applying the ideas and tools they learned earlier.
Families will be able to submit projects to two competitions – the AI Family Challenge (December submission deadline) and the Technovation Challenge (April submission deadline).
Invited Talks
October 13th – Tech Design Thinking – Build your Creative Confidence
To kick off the new season, we wanted to offer you a unique hands-on design thinking workshop (for both students and adults), led by one of industry’s leaders – Sanjay Rajagopalan (sanjayrajagopalan.com). Learn more and register here.
We hope that you will be able to use these ideation/design thinking skills for your next startup, mobile app, or world-changing invention!
AI Family Challenge
Week 1: Describe your community with data
Week 2: Identify problems in your community
Week 3: Use a machine learning model to make an animal classifier
Week 4: Use a machine learning model to make a preference predictor
Week 5: Use a machine learning model to make an emotion detector
Week 6: Plan your invention
Week 7: Prototype your invention
Week 8: Test and iterate on your invention
Week 9: Create your story
Week 10: Present your story at celebration event
Technovation Challenge
Week 11: Pick another problem to solve in your community (or keep working on your first idea)
Week 12: Set up App Inventor and learn how to build different types of businesses
Week 13: Learn about data and start doing market research
Week 14: Learn loops and conditionals. Continue working on your market research and begin making your brand.
Week 15: Learn about databases and sensors. Start your business model and keep working on your brand.
Week 16: Make a paper prototype and finalize your business model.
Week 17: Start building your app and make a logo.
Week 18: Make a marketing plan and start your pitch video.
Week 19: Keep building your app, start your business plan, and finish your pitch video.
Week 20: Keep coding and writing your business plan. Start your demo video.
Week 21: Troubleshoot your app and continue your business plan. Finish your demo video.
Week 22: Finish your app and business plan. Create a pitch presentation
Week 23: Finalize everything and present at celebration event
Underwater Robots
Week 24: Underwater Oceanography
Week 25-26: Interviewing scientists and researchers; identifying a problem to solve
Week 27: Ideation; Building the Control Box of the SeaPerch
Week 28: Building the Frame; Learning about Density, Buoyancy
Week 29: Adding the Motors; Learning about circuits
Week 30: Propellers and battery connections; Testing Data Collection
Week 31: Adjusting flotation and water testing; Testing Data Collection
Week 32-34: Iterating and improving the model
Week 35: Finalize everything and present at final celebration event
