Interesting Connections

Here are some interesting Lego model connections. Enjoy!

I think that this could be used as very solid bumper because of its flat front. I learned from this that two half plates together makes a more solid surface than one plate. 

This is a very strong base connection for a model. I learned from this that awkward pieces can be used just as well as average, everyday pieces.

This connection looks like a scorpion's tail and because of that, be used for connecting a Lego Mindstorms (Look it up!) light sensor upside down on it. I learned from this that can serve more and more functions the more you stare at it.

Verb and Adverb

Here is a story I wrote about two characterized parts of speech. They can only say thing from their word group.

One day, Verb and Adverb went for a walk. Verb tried to strike up a conversation.
"Talk?" he said.
Adverb said, "Quietly."
Verb said, "Running?"
Adverb said, "Crazily."
With that, Adverb tripped and fell into a river and swam away.
"Swim!" said Verb, but it was too late...

One month later...

Adverb washed up on the shores of a beach.
He said, "Tiredly..." and collapsed.

Lego Devices

Today I built three lego contraptions and I think that they are really cool and could be used in a Great Ball Contraptions. The first creation could be used as a ball launcher, the second, a path switcher, and the third, a ball bumper for moving the balls a certain way.

The Launcher

This creation is used to launch things across a room by, 1: pulling back a rod, 2: fitting something to launch into a hole, 3: letting go. The objects go far and fast until they hit a wall. Then they stop suddenly. I think that it would be a neat ball launcher.

The Screw

This device will go back and forth, back and forth, interesting any cat within sight of it. Not that I've tested it! It could be used as a ball track switcher by pushing a ball into one shoot or another in a ball contraption.

The Randomizer

This another way to do exactly the same thing as above, but with more pieces and some specialized parts.

Can you spot the differences between the two pictures? Actually, this is supposed to show how it works... Lets see if you can make sense of these photos!

Lego Models 2

Here are some Lego Technic experiment I built. Enjoy!

Experiment 3: Thirsty Flowers

Objectives: To observe how plants use their stems to get water and to compare what I expect to happen with what I observe to happen.

Predictions:   If I put a white carnation into a glass of blue colored water I think that all the petals will turn blue, starting from the center and spreading outwards from there. I don’t think that you will see the colored water in the stem as it colors the flower blue. If you add yellow to the flower, the flower will turn green.

Observations:

Here is the white carnation:

The carnation has fluffy white flowers, dark green stem, and dark green leaves.

Here is the white carnation split in half:

The carnation split in half has leaves extending into the stem, light green stem interior, and the petals extend into a light green bulb.

When put in blue dye for a few seconds, the inside of the stem turned blue. 

After half an hour, the carnation looked the same, except that it had a dark blue tip.

After two hours, the carnation’s petals started to turn blue around the outside edges.

After twenty and a half hours, the carnation looked the same.

Results:

On the cross section of the flower in the blue water, there are blue lines starting from the end of the stem, running through the stem and the petals and collecting on the outside edge of them. In comparison, on the cross section of the flower in the clear water, the stem is green, the petals are plain white, and there don’t appear to be lines of any kind on it.

On the petals on the flower in blue water, there are blue lines running through petal in scale-like patterns, starting from the end of the petals and collecting on the outside edge of them. In comparison, the petals on the flower in clear water doesn’t appear to have any scale-like details on it.

On the leaves and bulb on the stem of the flower in the blue water, there is a blue blob on the base of each leaf and a blue diamond shaped pattern on the bulb of the flower. In comparison, the bulb and leaves on the stem of the flower in the clear water are green.

Conclusion:

I thought that all of the petals of the flower would turn completely blue but what really happened was that the petal’s edges turned blue and the petals developed a scale-like pattern. The reason this happened is because the colored water is moving up through the xylem in the stem, which is the tissue that draws water and nutrients up through the soil.

Lego Models

Here are some Lego creations I have made and taken pictures of. Enjoy!

A hovertrain with a hinged feature I learned from a Lego Advent Calendar, allowing it to be posed. Its wings are made from sideways pieces. 

A spaceship made using a technique I discovered. It also uses rubber bands to make colored lines on it.

The backside of the spaceship, showing the technique of sandwiching a technic piece between two bricks.

A spaceship with a laser on a crane arm. It was built using sideways building.

A shape-changing spaceship that changes into a robot, a submarine, and a robot creature. It does not use any interesting techniques.

A bipedal robot inspired by steampunk (v.1). He was built using a walking base.

 A wind-up car created using a technic book I bought at Legoland Florida. You move it by winding it up and then letting go on the floor. 

A sea-faring robot inspired by steampunk. He was built using a handlebar to connect his upper half to his lower half.  

A miniature working cargo spaceship inspired by pictures from a Lego blog I like to read. Here is the link to it.

 A crayfish posted on my blog here. He was built with a modified piece at the center.

A bipedal steampunk robot. He was built with a walking base I figured out how to build.

A dinosaur under a tree who I posted about here and here.

A glider built for a Lego Master Builder Academy design challenge. Visit the website here.

The glider canopy.