iFairground Map > Fred Martin interview, MIT MediaLab

{ Fred Martin Interview}

Dr. Fred Martin, the creator of the programmable Lego brick, works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His invention is used as part of a kit for constructing Lego amusement parks as a means of learning science concepts. iF interviewed Dr. Martin about his creation.

Q: What age level do you feel is appropriate for creating these Lego models and why?
A: In general kids of any age can do all types of models. At a workshop, a 12 year old boy and a teacher in her 30s collaborated on a series of amusement park models. There really isn't an upper bound, and I'd say the lower bound on models like this is 8 years or so.

Q: How do you come up with new ideas? How long did it take you to develop the programmable brick?
A: It started with Seymour's work in the 1960's and 70's. I started in 1987 after the original LEGO/Logo product was done. A lot of people participated. Please see my paper in the recently published Robots for Kids book for a detailed history.

Q: Why do you feel that group development of an amusement park is an appropriate or better way for children to learn science?
A: If it's done well, it can be a problem kids care about, take seriously, and make their own.

Q: How many schools have you been working with? What are some of the projects that you are most proud of that they have developed? In what ways do you work with these educators?
I've worked with over twenty schools. I think some of the material in the Empowering Minds project in Ireland is some of the best. Please see my papers:
http://www.media.mit.edu/~fredm/papers/martin-smc2000.pdf
http://www.media.mit.edu/~fredm/papers/empowering-minds.pdf
for detailed answers to both of these. The second paper focuses on the process of how we work with educators.

Q: How do you involve students at MIT?
A: Often they are used as technical designers and sometimes, as collaborators in working with kids and teachers.

Q: What key concepts can be taught by developing an amusement park from Legos?
A: Project management, writing, research, mechanics, interface design, story-telling, etc. It's all up to how the child takes the project and what kind of support and context teachers provide.

Q: How do you and/or students collaborate with professional designers and engineers?
A: We have worked with LEGO to launch the RCX, making recommendations for the final product as consultants. There is not a big difference between "professional" [designers and engineees] and what we do. When developing our advanced prototypes, we do real engineering and real design.

Citation:
Martin, Fred G. <> "E-mail Interview for 'iF'" 03 July 2000. Personal email.