STEM Cart

Introduction

The STEM Cart is a collection of hardware that's designed support sharing with multiple classrooms. Below you'll find links to further information about the hardware it contains. If you have any questions, contact us at support@manylabs.org.

Getting Started

The Arduino Starter Kit is a good place to begin. This will familiarize you with the hardware, as well as the Manylabs platform and content.

After you're familiar with the basics, the Portable Data Recorder, and the DIY project kit are good starting points for designing your own experiments. The Sensor Plotter is a versatile tool that can plot live data from any of the sensors in the cart, as well as record data sets for later exploration.

Important: All of the following instructions assume that you are using the Arduino Programming Tool on this website, not the Arduino IDE. It is possible to upload the sketches using the Arduino IDE, but this requires extra steps to install the necessary libraries.

Physics

• Electromagnetism
• Pulley and Pendulum
• Force Sensor

Biology / Chemistry

• Test Tube Color Sensor
• pH

The Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions lesson uses the temperature sensor. You can also use the temperature sensor in the Sensor Plotter by adding a DS18B20 type sensor.

Earth Science

• Wind Power
• Solar Power
• Weather

Note The Wind and Solar Power kits share a current sensor.

Netbooks

The netbooks in the STEM Cart are running a modified version of Ubuntu Linux called Xubuntu. We've also added the WireGarden browser plugin and the Arduino IDE so you can get started without installing anything.

The netbooks are configured to log in automatically. This means that when you turn them on, they will boot to the desktop without asking for a username and password. If you do need the username or password they're listed below:

username: manylabs password: manylabs

There are shortcuts on the desktop for the Firefox browser and the Arduino IDE.

Shutting Down

If you'll be comming back to the netbook soon, you can simply close the lid. If you'll be putting it away for a while, you can shut it down instead. Here's how:

1. Click the mouse logo in the bottom left corner

2. Click the standby icon

   

3. Click Shut Down