I got this idea from Brad Lowell who is a 5th grade teacher in Indiana. He shared this idea on the Lightning Lab Sphero Site. If you haven't checked out the site, you definitely need to do so. It is free to register and gives you access to many great lessons and ideas for using the Sphero in your classroom. I have been using Sphero robots with my 5th grade students. I also have been using them in some STEM summer camps that I run. I am always looking for new and fun ways to use the Sphero robots. I decided to try my hand at crafting a baseball game board to use with the Spheros. How to Build Below is a video of how I went about building the baseball game board. I tried my best to explain the measurements I used to space out the bases and how to create the holes. How to PlayThere is not really a right or wrong way to play. I have had students divide into teams with anywhere from one to five kids on a team. The baseball game board lays flat on the ground. You can use the green ramps that come with the Sphero 2.0 or use the ramps that come with the terrain park kits. The ramps go in front of the game board. I leave about a two inch gap or so between the ramp and the game board. I then measure anywhere from five to eight feet away from the board and put a piece of tape to mark the starting line. Free Drive vs. Program You can choose to let your students free drive the robot onto the game board if you like. However, they can essentially spin the Sphero around on top of the game board until they get it into a hole. I would recommend using Macrolab, Tickle or SPRK to have students program the Sphero. This eliminates them being able to free drive around until they get the robot to drop in a hole. By having kids create the program to control the Sphero, once they hit play, it is up to their program to get Sphero into a hole. Runs, Outs, Innings, Hits You will use three outs just like a real game. The students will have a batting order just like in baseball. The first "batter" will place Sphero on the starting line, play their program and wait for the results. When the program is over and Sphero stops moving, students determine their outcome. Out: If the Sphero stops on top of the board, but fails to end up in a hole, they get an out. If Sphero fails to get on top of the board, or ends up rolling off of the board without going in a hole, they get an out. Once they get three outs, the other team is up to bat. Runs: Runs are scored just like the real game of baseball. Students will need to keep track of there their "baserunners" are at as they play. Hits: The holes on the game board represent a hit. If the ball lands in the first base hole, they receive a single. They will remove their Sphero and make not that they have a baserunner at first. The next batter will be up. If the Sphero stops in second, they have hit a double. If they Sphero stops in third, they hit a triple. If the ball stops in any of the three holes past the fence, it is a home run. Innings: You can play as many innings as you want. Each team gets three outs per half inning just like baseball. ExamplesThe video below represents an out. When the Sphero program ended, the Sphero did not manage to stop in any of the holes. It also fell off the game board. So an out is recorded. The video below represents a double. When the Sphero program ends, the Sphero successfully stopped in the hole which represents second base. By landing in second base, the batter hit a double. Small ramps are used in this example. The video below represents a homerun. When the program ended the Sphero stopped in a hole that is past the outfield fence. This results in a homerun. This example is also showing how the big ramps can be used for the game.
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Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |