Terrapin Resources
Volume 14, Number 2   
Fall 2018   
Greetings!
Welcome to the Fall 2018 issue of Turtle Talk, the Terrapin newsletter, as we proudly celebrate our 35th year.  
Add a New Dimension to the Community
3D community buildings for Bee-Bot
Bee-Bot can now roam through a 3D Community
 
Terrapin's new 3D Community Construction Kit provides everything you need to build a 3D community for Bee-Bot or Blue-Bot to explore.  Modeled on the Community Mat, the 3D Community Construction Kit features a bookstore, post office, pizza parlor, school, fire station, library, and more.

The kit may be used in conjunction with the Community Mat or to create a standalone community. It includes 15 easy-to-assemble boxes (a fun project that promotes dexterity and fine motor skills) with 12 pre-printed stickers of building fronts and 3 sides for each. Students may use 3 blank boxes to create buildings of their own by drawing or pasting photos or images.

The 3D Community Construction Kit enhances community studies while bringing art into STEM and developing coding, mapping, navigation, planning and measuring skills.

STEM Spreads through Houston
Educators being trained at the Houston Parks Dept
Makerspace training in Houston
The Houston Parks Department introduced computer science and computational thinking for children in low-income families by deploying Makerspaces in 30 locations, including schools, child care agencies, and community centers throughout Houston.

Terrapin's 
Makerspace Bundles, including all four sequential programming journey robots and an Easi-Scope digital microscope, are included among the learning resources.  

Experienced trainers Karen North and Heidi Williams provided an overview of how the products work and the continuum of learning they provide to Makerspace administrators during an all-day introductory session in September.

"Our training goal was to increase confidence levels of our participants in integrating computer science into their Makerspaces." noted Heidi. "I am pleased to report our before and after surveys indicate a huge increase in both confidence and a desire to learn more. Plus, we all had fun!"

Mats+More: Make the Most of Accessories
mats and more
Terrapin mats and accessories provide many learning options.

Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot are great for coding but also provide student motivation that may be channeled into teaching many subjects.  Terrapin offers accessories to utilize the 'bots across the curriculum, including a dozen mats sized and designed to teach a particular skill or subject.  New resources have recently been added to enhance the classroom use of the mats.
  • CVC Word Cards come with the CVC Words Mat or may be used with the Card Mat. Each card has an image on one side and the corresponding word on the other.
  • Bright yellow Dice come with the Dice Mat. Use them to create games and challenges on and off the mat.
  • The 3D Community Construction Kit adds a new dimension to the Community Mat or may be used on its own to create mazes and enhance community studies.
  • Alphabet Cards will soon be available with the Alphabet Mat or may be used with the Card Mat. Each card has a letter on one side and a word beginning with the letter on the other.
  • The Bee-Bot Mat Emulator runs in a browser and is available at no charge. Try out the mats and operate Bee-Bot online.
  • Download mat images to the Blue-Bot app and navigate Blue-Bot over the same mat on the table and the tablet.
In This Issue
LACUE
Terrapin is in booth #812 at
Hyatt Regency
New Orleans, LA
November 27-29
and presents in the Robotics Playground on Wednesday afternoon.
Logo for FETC converenceVisit Terrapin in 
Booth #1008 at
Orlando, FL  
January 27-30
and see the 'bots in action at the pre-conference Early Learning Playground.   
Terrapin Product Sheets
Download full color product sheets from Terrapin's 
Product sheets provide information about each product and are easy to share with colleagues.
  Bee-Bots are featured in 
No Fear Coding
by Heidi Williams. Published by ISTE,  
the book guides
K-5 educators to easily and effectively introduce coding to their students
Bee-Bots
  See Bee-Bots and more at these teacher-sponsored events!

Oct 27th
Timonium, MD

November 17
Bowling Green, OH
Terrapin | 955 Massachusetts Ave Suite 365 | Cambridge, MA 02139 Terrapin logo  
800-774-LOGO (5646) | Fax 617-608-9079 | turtletalk@terrapinlogo.com