A rocket designed to bring back a raw egg intact, a programme to be run on board the International Space Station, a robot that pushes another out of the ring: the FabLab Moebius has put together a programme that makes you wish you were 14 again. The organisation, based on Rue Saint-Honoré, is offering the following this year four long-term projects for young people, supported by volunteers, all sharing the same motto: learn by doing, make mistakes, try again, and see it through to the end.
This is the big new feature of the year. In teams of no more than six, the young people design and build a mini powder rocket tasked with carrying a raw egg without breaking it, and then watch as it is launched onto the’Villaroche aerodrome. Stability, weight, flight path, soft landing: a whole engineering project, from the drawing board to the countdown. Workshops every other Sunday afternoon, since 4 October, for pupils in Years 6 to 13, 12 seats.
With the Astro Pi European Challenge (Mission Space Lab), organised by the’ESA, the European Space Agency, participants learn the Python and devise an experiment designed to run on an Astro Pi computer on board the International Space Station. Team work on Saturday afternoons every other week, and a visit to Safran’s aerospace museum in Villaroche is on the «Team Astro» programme. Seats for 6 only, aged 12 to 18.
The principle can be summed up in a single sentence: two robots in a ring; the first to be knocked out loses. Behind the scenes, there’s mechanics, electronics, programming, sensors and strategy. The teams refine their robots session by session, every other Sunday afternoon, before the April competition at ESIEE, in Marne-la-Vallée. 16 seats For 8 robot kits, aged 12 and over.
The fourth event of the year, a courses to learn how to programme in Python by creating a video game together. A session on Saturday morning, every fortnight, for a contribution of 70 €.
The activities require a membership of the FabLab Moebius Makers association (€35 for young people and students, €30 for families, insurance included), followed by registration on a per-project basis for the year: 50 € for the Rocketry Challenge, 20 € for Astro Pi, 30 € for the Sumo-bots. A certificate is issued to recognise participation on Parcoursup. Full details and registration links can be found on the FabLab Moebius’s youth activities page. And for curious parents, the FabLab Moebius Science Café is open to everyone once a month.
A few words are enough, I reply personally.