Learning in robotics doesn’t have to take weeks, if you can design, build, and test a robot in hours in a video game.  Dan White, CEO of Filament Games, introduces RoboCo, their game meant to teach principles of robotics to players, from the mechanical design all the way to testing in the 3D world.  Dan discusses cofounding Filament Games with partners Dan Norton and Alex Stone, what constitutes a good or bad learning game, plans for integrating RoboCo into educational curricula, and more.

Related to this episode:  
• Filament Games: https://www.filamentgames.com/
• RoboCo: https://www.roboco.co/
• Meaningful Gaming in Education, PAX presentation from Ashley Brandin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1pkwi7X8w
• iCivics: https://www.icivics.org/
• Roblox: https://www.roblox.com/
• Besiege: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besiege_(video_game)
• Space Engineers: https://www.spaceengineersgame.com/
• Minecraft Edu: https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/homepage
• ‘RoboCo’ Looks to Fuel Interest in STEM by Letting You Build Useful (and Crappy) Robots: https://www.roadtovr.com/roboco-looks-fuel-interest-stem-letting-build-useful-crappy-robots/
• FIRST Robotics: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc
• Steam Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/
• Civilization: https://civilization.com/
• Micro, by Michael Creighton and Richard Preston: https://www.michaelcrichton.com/micro/

Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net.  Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates!  Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible.  The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

The K12 Engineering Education Podcast

A Video Game for Designing Robots, with Dan White

Support on Patreon

What is synthetic biology? Researcher and professor Dr. Xiaojing Gao introduces this cutting edge field. He explains how his lab at Stanford University engineers biomolecular circuits, which are meant to be programmable, reproducible, and friendlier to mammalian cells than non-biological molecules.  Xiaojing hopes to create the building blocks of this technology, to one day better treat all sorts of medical conditions ranging from cancer to epilepsy. He also describes his path to his interdisciplinary career.

Related to this episode:  
• Dr. Xiaojing Gao: https://cheme.stanford.edu/person/xiaojing-gao
• Gao Lab at Stanford: https://gaolab.blog/
• CAR T Therapy for cancer: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/car-t-cell-therapy
• Targeted Therapy for cancer: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/targeted-therapies
• biological logic gates: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-cells-protein-logic-gates.html
• Brain & Behavior Foundation: https://www.bbrfoundation.org/
• Cell Reprogramming With CRISPR/Cas9 Based Transcriptional Regulation Systems:  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00882/full
• Physics Olympiad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Physics_Olympiad
• Michael Elowitz: https://www.bbe.caltech.edu/people/michael-b-elowitz
• Liqun Luo: https://profiles.stanford.edu/liqun-luo
• Can we write biological “software updates” to cure disease?: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/can-we-write-biological-software-updates-to-cure-disease/
• Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) https://science.osti.gov/wdts
	
Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net.  Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates!  Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible.  The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Design Biomolecular Circuits, with Dr. Xiaojing Gao

Do scientific research articles sometimes sound like another language?  To K-12 students, very often it’s yes.  Tanya Dimitrova tried to help solve this problem by founding the Scientific Journal for Kids, where her team of writers, designers, and teachers translates articles from scientific research journals into more kid-friendly language.  Tanya talks about how her time as a science teacher in Central Texas influenced her to found this nonprofit, and then explains all the details that go into collaborating with scientists to make their work more accessible.

Related to this episode:  
• Science Journal for Kids (SJFK): https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/
• SJFK article relating to osmosis and energy: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-we-turn-ocean-water-into-renewable-energy/
• Tumble Podcast: https://www.sciencepodcastforkids.com/
• Past episode with Marshall Escamilla: https://k12engineering.net/episodes/59
• Sarah Galvani-Townsend: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/meet-a-scientist-sarah-galvani-townsend/
• Past guest Xiaojing Gao: https://www.k12engineering.net/episodes/113
• SJFK YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceJournalforKids
• r/explainlikeimfive: https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/
• CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
• Dr. Shannon Currie: https://www.shannoncurrie.org/

Opening music by LogicMoon: https://freesound.org/people/LogicMoon/sounds/617295/
Closing music by JetSmith88: https://freesound.org/people/JetSmith88/sounds/206065/
	
Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net.  Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates!  Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible.  The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

The Science Journal for Kids, with Tanya Dimitrova

The Physics Circus at The University of Texas at Austin tries to attract kids to science using loud and entertaining demonstrations that might not be as accessible to the average school.  Led by graduate students doing the latest in physics research, The Physics Circus is getting back into live shows again.  Joseph Ziegel is one of the coordinators of the group, along with Jordan Zesch, and Joseph describes their mission of young scientists spreading more love of science.

Related to this episode:  
• The Physics Circus at The University of Texas at Austin: https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~circus/
• Should a Person Touch 200,000 Volts? A Van de Graaff generator experiment! From the Jefferson lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubZuSZYVBng
• How To Make Pickles Glow, from TKOR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFefJyQhw0c
• The Physics Circus YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSPOGbgbw7D4ogjV5_UpFxA


Opening music by LogicMoon: https://freesound.org/people/LogicMoon/sounds/617295/
Closing music by JetSmith88: https://freesound.org/people/JetSmith88/sounds/206065/

	
Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net.  Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates!  Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible.  The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

The Physics Circus Teaches Science, with Joseph Ziegel

Promoting education in engineering and design for all ages.  Learn more and read transcripts at www.k12engineering.net. Produced by Pius Wong, engineer, of Pios Labs (www.pioslabs.com). 

This podcast is for educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and parents interested in bringing engineering to younger ages. Listen to real conversations among various professionals in the engineering education space, as we try to find better ways to educate and inspire kids in engineering thinking.  For episode transcripts and more information, visit: www.k12engineering.net

Topics include overcoming institutional barriers to engineering and STEM in K12, cool ways to teach engineering, equity in access to engineering, industry needs for engineers, strategies for training teachers, "edtech" solutions for K12 classrooms, curriculum and pedagogy reviews, and research on how kids learn engineering knowledge and skills. Thanks for listening!

The K12 Engineering Education Podcast

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