Outreach

Community outreach is an important part of the Soft Robotics Toolkit mission. The Toolkit has hosted speaking events and workshops both locally and abroad as well as collaborated with the Harvard Ed Portal and Harvard SEAS outreach.

The Toolkit workshops help to pilot test the quality and age appropriateness of our instructional materials. Interacting with students helps us determine what they find most enjoyable. The Toolkit is continually adding to it’s collection of proven instructional guides and as we conduct future workshop they will inform us as we develop more educational content.

2018 Workshops

EXPLO Workshop
Age group: 13-16 | When: July 19th 2018
EXPLO is a summer program in bioengineering for young women in 9th-11th grade. Hosted at Wheaton College, the participants travel to area schools in and around Boston to experience workshops, lectures, and lab visits to help foster an interest in science. As part of the program, 15 participants traveled to Harvard for a workshop, participating in the SDM finger and pneumatic muscle activity to coincide with their bioengineering courses. Each student made two soft actuators and tested actuation powered by one artificial muscles to determine how this actuator could be utilized to tackle various objects encountered.

2017 Workshops

	MassRobotics Educator Workshop: Age groups: Educators of various levels \| When: October 11th 2017 Educators from around Boston came to MassRobotics for a workshop with the Soft Robotics Toolkit showcasing the Resources for Educators materials published on Softroboticstoolkit.com. The workshop focused on training educators in the newly developed fabrication guides for educators so that they could better integrate STEM materials into their classrooms or after school activities. The workshop took participants through the process of planning, building and sealing a cardboard mold as well as becoming familiar with the silicone casting process. In the end the educators made SDM Finger actuators, a lesson typically used to teach students about mold making, geometry and locomotion.

	REU Workshop Age groups: Undergraduates \| When: July 13th - 14th 2017 The Soft Robotics toolkit held a workshop with the Harvard Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The summer students travel to Harvard from universities around the world to gain additional research experience and bring the lessons back to their home institutions. The workshop gave an introductory soft robotics lessons and walked them through the process of creating a soft gripper, a simple example of a pneumatic actuator. One student from the program took this newfound knowledge to his home university in Puerto Rico and conducted a workshop within his engineering department.

	Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia - UPCH Workshop Age group: 11-12 \| When: August 2017 Soft Robotics Toolkit partners from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) hosted a workshop in the IEP Maria Goretti High School in Peru. The workshop focused on helping younger Peruvian students become aware of the field of engineering through hands-on construction and activities. Participants made pneumatic actuators with embedded soft sensors that could be co-molded and tested with a multi-meter.

	Harvard Ed Portal Workshop Age group: 10-14 \| When: July 2017 In the second year of the Ed Portal’s soft robotics week participants built soft robotic ‘fingers’ using cardboard molds, silicone and string which they were able to connect to a small motor and pulley to create a simple robotic hand. Students also fabricated soft stretchable strain sensors, pneumatic wrist braces made of heat-weldable fabric and imagined their own soft robots in a design thinking exercise.

Image: Conor McCabe Photography	Inspirefest Family Fringe Event Workshop Age group: all ages \| When: July 2017 Inspirefest is a festival event in Ireland focused on providing workshops for kids in the fields of engineering, computer science and maker culture. The event hosts numerous workshops with hands-on design activities such as making board games, learning to code and making soft robots. We hosted a lecture and a workshop for attendees introducing pneumatic actuators. Attendees used balloons, different stretchy and non-stretchy fabrics as well as hand pumps to inflate the balloons and depending on the materials used, saw various type of movements performed.

	Project Teach Lecture Age group: 10-14 \| When: March 2017 This year’s Project Teach saw students from Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brooklyn, New York travel to Boston for an afternoon of campus tours, lectures and insight into college life. We hosted a lecture on soft robot applications, research, site content and what educational paths and skills can lead to a career in robots and engineering.

2016 Workshops

	UTEC Workshop Age group: undergrads \| When: July 2016 Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología in Lima, Peru was the site for a soft robotic workshop focused on bringing the Toolkit content to a global following and testing the quality of the Toolkit’s educational content with an international audience. The workshop participants were guided in a design activity where they were able to design, prototype and present a conceptual design with the hopes that the exposure could prepare students with the skills needed to build upon work already published on the Toolkit site.

	Tech Savvy Workshop Age group: 10-14 \| When: July 2016 Tech Savvy is a program co-hosted and sponsored by many institutions in the Boston area including: The Museum of Science, Boston University, Emmanuel College, Girls Scouts of MA, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Science Clubs for Girls, Simmons College, Tech Boston, UMass Boston, IBM, Wentworth Institute of Technology and WGBH. The event is a weeklong program focusing on keeping girls entering the 7th and 8th grade interested in STEM activities and curriculum. We held a workshop on mold making for the 4-fingered gripper where participants could work with their peers to create soft robots.

	Ed Portal Workshop Age group: 10-14 \| When: July 2016 The Harvard Ed Portal, a collaborative partnership involving Harvard, the Allston-Brighton community, and the City of Boston, is the Allston-Brighton community outreach program dedicated to providing extracurricular, art programs, and personal and professional development programs where students can interface with Harvard undergrads and graduates. We held a one week program to teach the design process. Student were introduced to soft robotics through various design activities, including building molds, robotic components as well as participating in conceptual design projects and imaginative exercises.

	CRLS Workshop Age group: 14-18 \| When: March 2016 An after-school workshop run at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin high school was an opportunity for us to help spread soft robotics to high school students. These students had some experience in robotics from their core curriculum or from the robotics programs and clubs at the school. The workshop aimed to show these students the low-cost and easily available construction methods used for the mold-making such as cardboard, tape and hot glue, in hopes that it may inspire them in their own projects.

	Apprentice Learning Age group: 14 \| When: March 2016 Apprentice Learning is a program that gives eighth graders in the Boston Public Schools exposure to various career paths through short apprenticeships and hands-on learning. work within the industries they shadow. Working with this program, we organized a visit to the Wyss Institute where students participated in a workshop where students made soft pneumatic actuators and experimented with various types of materials such as ribbon, fabric and kevlar cord to control the movement of the actuators.

	Project Teach Lecture Age group: 10-14 \| When: March 2016 Project Teach is a Harvard SEAS program for local 6th-8th graders get to tour Harvard͛s campus, attend lectures from Harvard researchers, and get a feel for college life to inspire aspirations for higher education. The program included visits with undergraduates, classroom tours and a lecture where we spoke to students about soft robotics, the applications for the emerging field as well as the importance of higher education for pursuing this career path. The lecture included demonstrations of robotic components and at the conclusion of the lecture students played with the soft robot components that are published on the Toolkit site.

2015 Workshops

Artemis Project
Age group: 14 | When: July 2015
The Artemis Project is a five-week summer program run by Boston University for rising 9th grade girls focused on computer science, robotics and electronics. As part of the program, participants toured various local universities where they heard from guest speakers and attended lectures to learn about real-world applications for science and engineering. As part of the visit to Harvard SEAS, we set up a crash course on soft robotics to help participants learn about two part molding processes and making the Soft Gripper, a 4-fingered gripper able to inflate and pick up small objects.

	MassRobotics Educator Workshop: Age groups: Educators of various levels \| When: October 11th 2017 Educators from around Boston came to MassRobotics for a workshop with the Soft Robotics Toolkit showcasing the Resources for Educators materials published on Softroboticstoolkit.com. The workshop focused on training educators in the newly developed fabrication guides for educators so that they could better integrate STEM materials into their classrooms or after school activities. The workshop took participants through the process of planning, building and sealing a cardboard mold as well as becoming familiar with the silicone casting process. In the end the educators made SDM Finger actuators, a lesson typically used to teach students about mold making, geometry and locomotion.

	REU Workshop Age groups: Undergraduates \| When: July 13th - 14th 2017 The Soft Robotics toolkit held a workshop with the Harvard Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The summer students travel to Harvard from universities around the world to gain additional research experience and bring the lessons back to their home institutions. The workshop gave an introductory soft robotics lessons and walked them through the process of creating a soft gripper, a simple example of a pneumatic actuator. One student from the program took this newfound knowledge to his home university in Puerto Rico and conducted a workshop within his engineering department.

	Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia - UPCH Workshop Age group: 11-12 \| When: August 2017 Soft Robotics Toolkit partners from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) hosted a workshop in the IEP Maria Goretti High School in Peru. The workshop focused on helping younger Peruvian students become aware of the field of engineering through hands-on construction and activities. Participants made pneumatic actuators with embedded soft sensors that could be co-molded and tested with a multi-meter.

	Harvard Ed Portal Workshop Age group: 10-14 \| When: July 2017 In the second year of the Ed Portal’s soft robotics week participants built soft robotic ‘fingers’ using cardboard molds, silicone and string which they were able to connect to a small motor and pulley to create a simple robotic hand. Students also fabricated soft stretchable strain sensors, pneumatic wrist braces made of heat-weldable fabric and imagined their own soft robots in a design thinking exercise.

Image: Conor McCabe Photography	Inspirefest Family Fringe Event Workshop Age group: all ages \| When: July 2017 Inspirefest is a festival event in Ireland focused on providing workshops for kids in the fields of engineering, computer science and maker culture. The event hosts numerous workshops with hands-on design activities such as making board games, learning to code and making soft robots. We hosted a lecture and a workshop for attendees introducing pneumatic actuators. Attendees used balloons, different stretchy and non-stretchy fabrics as well as hand pumps to inflate the balloons and depending on the materials used, saw various type of movements performed.

	Project Teach Lecture Age group: 10-14 \| When: March 2017 This year’s Project Teach saw students from Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brooklyn, New York travel to Boston for an afternoon of campus tours, lectures and insight into college life. We hosted a lecture on soft robot applications, research, site content and what educational paths and skills can lead to a career in robots and engineering.

	UTEC Workshop Age group: undergrads \| When: July 2016 Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología in Lima, Peru was the site for a soft robotic workshop focused on bringing the Toolkit content to a global following and testing the quality of the Toolkit’s educational content with an international audience. The workshop participants were guided in a design activity where they were able to design, prototype and present a conceptual design with the hopes that the exposure could prepare students with the skills needed to build upon work already published on the Toolkit site.

	Tech Savvy Workshop Age group: 10-14 \| When: July 2016 Tech Savvy is a program co-hosted and sponsored by many institutions in the Boston area including: The Museum of Science, Boston University, Emmanuel College, Girls Scouts of MA, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Science Clubs for Girls, Simmons College, Tech Boston, UMass Boston, IBM, Wentworth Institute of Technology and WGBH. The event is a weeklong program focusing on keeping girls entering the 7th and 8th grade interested in STEM activities and curriculum. We held a workshop on mold making for the 4-fingered gripper where participants could work with their peers to create soft robots.

	Ed Portal Workshop Age group: 10-14 \| When: July 2016 The Harvard Ed Portal, a collaborative partnership involving Harvard, the Allston-Brighton community, and the City of Boston, is the Allston-Brighton community outreach program dedicated to providing extracurricular, art programs, and personal and professional development programs where students can interface with Harvard undergrads and graduates. We held a one week program to teach the design process. Student were introduced to soft robotics through various design activities, including building molds, robotic components as well as participating in conceptual design projects and imaginative exercises.

	CRLS Workshop Age group: 14-18 \| When: March 2016 An after-school workshop run at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin high school was an opportunity for us to help spread soft robotics to high school students. These students had some experience in robotics from their core curriculum or from the robotics programs and clubs at the school. The workshop aimed to show these students the low-cost and easily available construction methods used for the mold-making such as cardboard, tape and hot glue, in hopes that it may inspire them in their own projects.

	Apprentice Learning Age group: 14 \| When: March 2016 Apprentice Learning is a program that gives eighth graders in the Boston Public Schools exposure to various career paths through short apprenticeships and hands-on learning. work within the industries they shadow. Working with this program, we organized a visit to the Wyss Institute where students participated in a workshop where students made soft pneumatic actuators and experimented with various types of materials such as ribbon, fabric and kevlar cord to control the movement of the actuators.

	Project Teach Lecture Age group: 10-14 \| When: March 2016 Project Teach is a Harvard SEAS program for local 6th-8th graders get to tour Harvard͛s campus, attend lectures from Harvard researchers, and get a feel for college life to inspire aspirations for higher education. The program included visits with undergraduates, classroom tours and a lecture where we spoke to students about soft robotics, the applications for the emerging field as well as the importance of higher education for pursuing this career path. The lecture included demonstrations of robotic components and at the conclusion of the lecture students played with the soft robot components that are published on the Toolkit site.