In Math 12, The Mathematics of Lego Bricks, while we used lego bricks as a springboard to talk about a lot of interesting math (the lectures and additional comments are available here), the main goal was to successfully build the Superstar Destroyer in under 10 minutes. It was an interesting challenge to divide the work among all the students, and a great way to explore issues in teamwork, efficiency, authority and responsibility. After just missing last year (with a world record best time of 10:21, which was still fast enough to be adding more than 5 bricks per second), we succeeded this year, assembling the Superstar Destroyer in 8:47 (the final time was 9:13, as we outsourced building the minifigs to a consortium of elementary school kids). Many thanks to all who came to the ’62 Center to cheer us on, and to all the organizations on campus that helped fund the class (including Dining Services, DRFC, EComm, the Alderaan Preservation Society, the Neighborhoods, Williams College, …). Below are some stories on the event.
- iBerkshires.com: pre-build article
- iBerkshires.com: story on successful build
- Berkshire Eagle: story on successful build
- Berkshire Eagle: photographs of successful build (zipped photos superstarsuccessfulbuild2015)
- Berkshire Eagle: time lapse video of build (camera above table 1)
- WABC story: http://wamc.org/post/piece-piece-williams-students-embark-light-speed-voyage
- Lego instructions: click here
We hope to have other events along these lines in the future — if you’re interested email Steve Miller at [email protected].