Ding! Going Up? Elevators and Engineering

Elevator test passengers: Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Washington.CopyrightCopyright 2013 Denise W. Carlson, College of Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

Each group needs:

• LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robot, such as EV3 Core Set (5003400) at https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-mindstorms-education-ev3-core-set/5003400#lego-mindstorms-education-ev3 (includes programmable EV3 intelligent brick; 3 2 interactive servo motors; sound, color, ultrasonic and 2 touch sensors; and many other components and instructions)
• calculator
• measuring tape
• paper
• masking tape
• 41 cents as "passengers" to act as weights, these specific coins: nickel, penny, dime and quarter
• Elevator Building Guide (PDF)
• Data Collection Worksheet (PDF), one per student
• Elevator Rubric (PDF)

Note: This activity can also be conducted with the older (and no longer sold) LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set instead of EV3; see below for those supplies:

• LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot, such as the NXT Base Set

To share with the entire class:

• scissors
• spool of string
• computer with internet access and USB cable
• ruler
• masking tape
• Floor Ruler (PDF) (or a tape measure that can be positioned and marked)
• Floor Ruler Building Guide (PDF)
• Elevator RobotC Programming Guide (PDF)