Abstract
This paper presents a progressive series of age-appropriate lesson plans for grades K-12 that all use the same interdisciplinary activity to educate students about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) simultaneously. Technology from Texas Instruments (TI) was employed including a TI Nspire graphing calculator that can run Python programs, a TI Innovator Hub, and a TI Rover. The TI Rover is a small, robotic car that has sensors and is controlled by the calculator via the Hub hardware interface. A Python program was developed that uses the color sensor in the Rover to detect the color on colored paper that is directly underneath the Rover. We then map each color to a musical note in the C major scale. As the Rover drives forward, it encounters new colors and plays the corresponding note. The placement and size of each color block (Rainbow Road) determines the timing and duration of the notes, thus turning the Rover into a musician of sorts (Rockin’ Rover). Via this novel activity, students experience not only all of the components of STEAM but also creative connections between them.
Recommended Citation
Kolta, Michael; Burgee, Lawrence; and Yuan, Ying
(2026)
"Rockin’ Rover on the Rainbow Road,"
Transformations: Vol. 12:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/transformations/vol12/iss1/4
Included in
Algebra Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Music Theory Commons, Other Mathematics Commons, Other Physics Commons, Robotics Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Software Engineering Commons