MINDSTORMS Education EV3 Preview

I was recently awarded a Grant from LEGO Education (LE), to be a part of the "LEGO Education EV3 Seed Project." As part of the program, LE sent me a number of EV3 sets before their public release to try out in my robotics camps this summer.

The boxes came this week - here's a first look:

They are not the final version of what will be shipped this August. Usually LE MINDSTORMS kits come with a nice layout of how to organize the parts, but since this is a beta, I had to create my own organizational system.

I was given a PDF file of the parts list and made stickers of what parts should go where. I also labeled each bin with leftover price stickers I had around the house. 

Here's the parts list of the Core Set from LEGO Education:

I separated parts in the top bin into the categories that I will use to teach my students how to use and identify LEGO TECHNIC elements.

• Angled beams
• Straight beams
• Connectors
• 2 & 4 prong connectors
• Gears
• Axels (and all parts that have an axel pin)
• Friction pegs
• Bushings
• Pulley and skinny tire
• Ball parts (the new LE EV3 kit comes with an AMAZING ball attachment that can be used as a 3rd wheel- say goodbye to complicated pivot wheels!)
• Treads
• Misc. Parts

I separated parts in the top bin by:

• EV3 
• 2 large motors
• 1 medium motor
• Ultrasonic sensor (1)
• Touch sensors (2)
• Color sensor (1)
• Gyro sensor (1)
• Tires (2) & hubs 
• Wires & USB cable

I also laminated the bottom bin parts list for student reference.

Here are copies of the files I used for part stickers and bottom bin.  The top two .jpg's for the top bins, and are best printed at 60%, the third .jpg is the bottom bin reference sheet and can be printed at 100%. I print these on full sheet ink jet labels from Staples.

Top bin File #1:

Top bin File #2:

Bottom bin reference sheet:

The LE EV3 software should be coming next week. 

Stay tuned for first impressions of the software!