Robotics Camp

My intern project this summer was coordinating a robotics camp. Robotics was a part of 4-H I didn’t learn about until I had aged out, but it was something I was interested in learning about. I think during this process I learned just as much as the kids I was teaching. 

The first step to this project was realizing I was going to need help to teach several kids. I called some of our teen club members that were interested and they agreed to help. However, none of us knew how to use or program the robots. My agent and program assistant had been trained in using the Lego NXT robots, but not enough to lead a workshop or train teens. Therefore, I invited a teacher from a local elementary school, who had a robotics club, to train the teens, my agent and myself. We built our own robots and learned the basics of programming them and all about their different adapters. When the teens came back for a second day they began to program more advanced movements and gained confidence in using the robots. Our teen train was a major success because it showed us we were capable of programming the robots, as well as, we could easily teach it to kids.

For this first workshop, I didn’t know what to expect with the kids’ interest levels and abilities. I decided we should target older kids that would be more interested and patient with the process. I contacted our most active sixth and seventh grade kids and soon I had 20 kids signed up. To start off the workshop, I divided the kids into teams of 3 and had their teen help them build their robot. The youth had to pay careful attention to the detailed instructions on how to build their robot and they learned to take their time and be patient. Once their robots were completed, I gave a simple tutorial on how to use the computer program. Their first task was to complete a “challenge course,” a pathway marked by masking tape on the floor they had to program their robot to maneuver through. 

After lunch, we had several stations where they used the different sensors (like a light sensor, sound sensor, and ultrasonic sensor) to complete challenges. One of the kids’ favorite activities was building an arm for the robot that could hit a red ball. All of the kids agreed that they learned something new and they thought the robots were cool. Some even said they were going to ask for one for Christmas!

I have definitely discovered one of my favorite projects in the 4-H curriculum. Not only are the robots fun to play with, but they also teach a valuable skill that is useful for the kids’ futures, and that in turn proves that 4-H is still teaching relevant life skills to our youth. I learned a lot about creating programming as well as volunteer recruitment and marketing. While it took several weeks and much preparation, it was rewarding to see how much the kids learned and became interested in robotics. My agent plans to start a robotics club this year and most of the kids want to continue and hopefully we will get even more youth involved in this important program.