In December, Central Manor Elementary School teacher Beth Neumann gave her fourth-graders an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of a biology unit through a hands-on computer science project. After completing a module on ecosystems and animal adaptations, the students brought the material to life by constructing robotic animals and learning how to program them.

Students learned about ecosystems as a whole in Neumann's biology unit, but they specifically focused on the many ways that animals evolve to suit their environments. After finishing the unit, Neumann invited Penn Manor School District technology training consultant Judy Keller to teach the kids about computer coding.

"I was looking for an out-of-the-box way to evaluate my students and to challenge them," Neumann said. "Students needed to work as a team to create an animal to demonstrate its adaptations and how it helped the animal survive." Neumann acquired the idea for the project through a course at Millersville University, where she is studying for her master's degree.

First, Neumann's students worked together to come up with a prototype design for their animal, which they constructed out of any materials they could find around the classroom and at home. The budding engineers then used felt, cardboard tubes and googly eyes to assemble monkeys, cheetahs and hummingbirds. Neumann's students used wires, motors and bulbs from a robotics learning kit to incorporate into their designs.

Once Neumann's classroom was effectively transformed into a mechanical zoo, each team used the skills learned from Keller to animate the creatures with lines of code. Some students wrote commands to give their robots flashing lights, while others used scripts to give the constructs minds of their own.

"Often we think of each subject in its own box, and we focus on math or science separately," said Neumann. "But students learn best when subjects are integrated together. When we can cross those barriers, the kids take off and soar with their learning." Neumann plans to make the animal robotics assignment part of her curriculum for next year's class.

To finish the project, the students created videos that included information about a specific animal and its adaptations. The kids shared their videos with their families and school staff members.