# Cultivating Engineering Skills in School-Age Children using an app controlled Motorized Paper Boat with Microcontrollers
Today we must keep up with the rapidly increasing amount of technology that is used in almost every facet of our lives. Those that are able to learn and keep an open mind thrive, while those that are close minded and short sighted struggle. While it is not impossible to complete day to day tasks without technology, soon it will become inevitable. Robots are very expensive and inaccessible, many are not made with the intention of challenging one’s ability to create or think critically. Paper is accessible throughout the world, and requires a small amount of tools to use to for personal work or projects. This is important because the world and its technology is rapidly changing, leaving behind many communities with little to no resources. The information we collect from the children will help us adjust our expectations, as well as better design the user interface for the app to be accessible and usable to primary age children. Teaching children to critically think in terms of engineering/STEM without the prerequisite of Math and Science courses, leaning more on intuition as well as observation, trial, and error. Allowing children to strengthen their mechanical and soft skills that are considered pertinent to STEM and engineering. We want children to be able to easily and efficiently, with little resources to be able to create robotic systems.
Educational equipment like robots are very expensive and largely inaccessible for primary school aged children. Paper is easily accessible throughout the world, with paper and a web based or phone app, a project like Paper Boats can challenge and aide in strengthening children’s mechanical and soft skills.
Goal Deliverable Task
Week 1: G: Create a proposal using research papers and online content.
D: Proposal
T: Write Proposal
Week 2: G: Create and Test Paper Boat and Motor Prototypes
D: Prototypes
T: Using Research and online resources build and test multiple Paper Boat and motor Prototypes
Week 3: G: Interview and Observe school- age children use the Paper Boat and Motor Prototypes
D: Interviews and Data
T: Create an outline of how to present children with prototypes
Week 4: G: Adjust proposal
D: Updated Proposal (Plan, Expectations, Goals)
T: Adjust the expectations and goals for the project based on our interaction with the children
Week 5: G: Finalize Prototype and start app
D: Paper Boat Prototype
T: Work on finalizing the 1st paper boat app and start planning, designing, and working on the app
Week 6: G: Create a relationship between Motorized Paper Boat and App
D: Controlling Motorized Paper with App
T: Work on app
Week 7: G: Interview and Observe school- age children use the Motorized Paper Boat and App
