What progress did you make on your project over spring break?

  Over spring break, I managed to shift my focus and settle on a concept which satisfied both my personal criteria and the 'rules' laid out previously. I knew that I wanted to apply some of the things I've learned in the class room and integrate it with a hobby.

  The prototype of the project is complete, and over the next few weeks coming into deadline will be refinement and perfecting the vision set upon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the one trait that you believe to be the most crucial to your success? How has failure been part of your learning?

Before the beginning of my junior year, I never felt like I had significant success, be it socially, academically, or other areas. But right now I feel like I have become more aligned with my path to success, primarily because of 'Push', Richard St. Johnson's way of saying motivation. Life was very much similar to a carefree balloon, floating and wandering without direction until one day the helium no longer sustains its linkage downwards. That was me for a long time, but this year with the influences of my friends, teachers, and renewed self-confidence, it became clear to me that if I wanted to achieve success, it was time to start pushing. The capstone project is largely uncharted territory for me as well as many students. It may be the first time that we get to utilize the skill-sets we've acquired during class in creating something of our own, and that is why it is ever so pertinent to push, work, and persist. When it comes to failures, it actually may be possibl
Read more

Project Summary

For my capstone project, I aimed to combine my two interests/strengths: STEM and music. My first idea was a tuning tool, but it proved too difficult of a product to make unique. The second option, which I have now committed to, is an LED circuit featuring a Piezo Vibration Sensor that lights up when I play my instrument: The violin. Taking up the capstone project certainly was not easy. In the winter term, I opted to join the capstone project, knowing that I had a multitude of other academia waiting in the junior year. It would be unfair to call this decision an act of confidence in ability, because I knew that if I could complete it with relative success, it could stand out on my college application. By the spring trimester, despite the fact that I had completed my prototype and had achieved fair progress towards the end goal, the burden of work afflicted me intensely. By April, the stresses of standardized testing and the start of the Tennis season gripped me. The goal now is to
Read more

What are your plans for working on your Capstone during Spring Break?

Spring-break is a busier time than the regular academic rotation, particularly during the Junior year. Obligations and ambitions compound exponentially as the college application process enters full swing. Kids often have college visits and other activities scheduled alongside their downtime, and this felt true to me. Over the three-and-a-half week vacation, I set out to create a prototype of my new idea: an LED strip that increases in luminosity with violin playing. The biggest struggle I had was not the logistics and mechanisms behind the design, but rather the commitment and resource prerequisites. Just because I knew how a circuit and its components worked does not equate to me understanding how to construct one. Finding and locating each individual part that I needed, as well as finding the tools needed (Solder, breadboards, etc...) proved to be a significant challenge. More than 10 hours were spent simply looking at components and comparing prices. Now with the parts and materia
Read more