Session 4 — Simple Maze (Engineering Focus)

Opening concept: Engineers test, find what breaks, and fix it.

Physical activity: PL-3 + PL-4 (Two-Wheel Robot) — run both versions back to back. First: two students hold hands and try to walk a straight tape line with eyes closed. They’ll drift. Then: try to make a 90° turn using one wheel pivoting, the other stepping. Measure the angle. Debrief: “This is what’s happening inside Edison. The two wheels aren’t identical, so turns and straight lines are never perfect. That’s why our maze program will need fixing.” Then go build and run the maze program.

Activity:

• Build a simple L-shaped or T-shaped maze from foam noodles or cardboard strips (1–2 turns only)
• Teams write a Card Coding program to navigate Edison from start to exit
• Expect failure — Edison’s turns won’t be exact. Celebrate finding the bug.
• Iterate: adjust the turn card, try again. How many tries did it take?

Engineering connection: Full loop — Understand (Edison missed the turn) → Imagine (adjust the turn card) → Build (swap the card and scan) → Prove (did it work?)

Materials: Foam noodles or cardboard strips for maze, Card Coding cards, tape for start/finish