Board 158: Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Lego-neered Vertical Flight Dynamic Systems: Using Custom Lego Models to Inspire the Next Generation of Innovators (Work in Progress)

Engaging the next generation of technical thinkers is crucial for ensuring our society continues to innovate into the future. There are many possible methods for engagement that can be used to spark an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for students in primary school and middle school. Most of these students are already familiar with LEGO bricks. By using custom built LEGO models to demonstrate engineering principles, interest in engineering can be generated and a lifelong passion for the discipline could be developed. This paper will examine the development of several novel LEGO models and their demonstration to students. These models were custom built to teach the fundamentals of vertical lift aircraft design such as power transmission, structures, and aerodynamics. Alongside the models, students were shown infographics which relate the LEGO designs to comparable real-life aircraft. Funding from the Penn State College of Engineering was used to build three educational LEGO models which demonstrate the dynamics of various vertical flight aircraft. Two of these models demonstrate the technical characteristics of coaxial helicopters with a pusher propeller. One of the models uses a single engine, and the other is in a dual engine configuration. A LEGO tiltrotor aircraft model was also built to display the functional components of that type of aircraft. All LEGO models were designed, fabricated, and tested until they were suitable for an educational environment. Each model was designed using the Bricklink Studio 2.0 software, which allows users to create custom LEGO models and order the pieces for such creations. All models provide insight into the inner workings of dynamic systems from various real-world aircraft. The LEGO models were shown during a preliminary classroom presentation to middle school students. This was meant to assess the effectiveness of the presentation format. In the future, student engagement with the LEGO models will be quantitatively assessed during other similar demonstrations. A quiz is to be administered before and after each presentation. These quizzes will gauge the engineering knowledge and interest of listeners before and after the presentation was given. Results from the two surveys will be compared and used to assess newfound engineering knowledge and interest. Ideally, students will exhibit an improvement in engineering knowledge and more interest in the discipline after listening to the presentation. Utilizing custom built LEGO models to demonstrate the function of various real-life aircraft systems is novel in pre-college STEM education. With the success of this method of engagement, the usage of custom LEGO models to demonstrate complex mechanical systems can be implemented by STEM educators on a broad scale. This method can inspire a lifelong interest in STEM for students.