Learn about art and the five senses. A lot of art is made to be seen — but what if you could touch, hear, and even smell works of art? In this episode, host Lauren Paullin shows you how to mix paints that smell like pastries and transform sounds into sketches. You'll also learn about a fascinating condition called synesthesia, which links multiple senses together in the brain so that some people can taste music, hear color, and smell words! Developed for students in grades 4- adults.

Students experience haptic (the sense of touch) feedback by using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robots and touch sensors to emulate touch feedback recognition. With four touch sensors connected to LEGO NXTs, they design sensor attachments that feel physically distinguishable from each another. Then students answer questions and communicate their answers to the NXT by pressing the touch sensor that is associated with the right multiple-choice answer letter. Haptics becomes essential when students must use the NXT sensors to answer the next set of questions without the aid of their vision. This challenges them to rely solely on the tactile feeling of each unique touch sensor attachment that they created in order to choose the correct peripheral slot. Students also learn about real-world applications of haptics technology.

Students learn about how touch sensors work, while reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of touch. They look at human senses and their electronic imitators, with special focus on the nervous system, skin and touch sensors. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, how touch sensors are made and work, and then gives students a chance to handle and get familiar with the LEGO touch sensor, including programming LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots to use touch sensor input to play music. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. The mini-activities prepare students for the associated activity. This lesson and its associated activity enables students to appreciate how robots can take input from sensors, and use that to make decisions to move.

Learn about the five senses. Mary and Mike are out and about, using their five senses to explore a city park. Mary collects leaves and watches the squirrels busily gathering acorns, while Mike eats snacks from his bag. Back in the studio, they find new ways to make music and even try some improvisation. Special guest, Ms. McCollough, shows us how to make our very own fizzy volcanoes. How will you be brave and curious today?

Students' understanding of how robotic touch sensors work is reinforced through a hands-on design challenge involving LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT intelligent bricks, motors and touch sensors. They learn programming skills and logic design in parallel as they program robot computers to play sounds and rotate a wheel when a touch sensor is pressed, and then produce different responses if a different touch sensor is activated. Students see first-hand how robots can take input from sensors and use it to make decisions to move as programmed, including simultaneously moving a motor and playing music. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.

This lesson describes the function and components of the human nervous system. It helps students understand the purpose of our brain, spinal cord, nerves and the five senses. How the nervous system is affected during spaceflight is also discussed in this lesson.

Students work in pairs or small groups to identify and categorize various objects. One student is blindfolded and the other student chooses five objects for their partner to identify. The blindfolded student has to describe and try to identify the object based solely on touch. Both students then record their data, describing the objects first as human-made or natural, then living or non-living, and finally physical characteristics.

This activity is about how you form mental images of your body's position in space, independent of vision. Can you take a sip of water from a cup with your eyes closed? If so, how are you able to navigate this maneuver without seeing the cup? Find out here!