Tag Archives: tech

Education

Think Only Boys Like Robotics? Think Again

At CodeREV Kids we see it all the time: parents who are surprised that girls can be into robots too. The truth is that one of our goals is to promote STEM-learning for all kids – both boys and girls. A recent article in the Belleville News-Democrat, O’Fallon Girl Scouts reach out to youth with robotics camp, made us proud of the girls involved.

13 girls from a local O’Fallon Girl Scout troop formed a group called Oops! Robotics, and managed to qualify for state competitions in both Missouri and Illinois in 2015. Now they’re getting involved in several youth robotics programs in STEM camps in Edwardsville and Belleville.

The Oops! Robotics team was created by the O’Fallon Girl Scouts and has girls from several schools involved. The group has gotten very involved in community service too – in fact, just last year they gave more than 1,100 hours to their community. Kids that are high school now began the program in 6th grade, and are now able to get involved in outreach to bring other kids in.

The purpose of the camps has always been to reach out to all youth, though they do focus more on girls than boys. This team is unlike other similar teams because there are girls from six different Girl Scout troops, three cities, and five schools. The result is a great mix of kids with unique skill sets to bring to the group.

One 18 year old has stated that she intends to continue focusing on STEM subjects – she’s majoring in bio engineering. Why? Because she got involved with STEM when she was young, she says. It helped her with problem solving and helped her get excited about robotics and other STEM based skills. She wants to help other girls get involved and encourage them to follow their interest.

While it’s great to see so many girls involved, it’s important to keep in mind that in the Belleville weeklong camp that was held in July, only four of the 25 kids in attendance were girls. The program wants girls to know that it’s okay to be interested in robotics and other STEM platforms and at CodeREV Kids we want to encourage that as well. That’s why we offer STEM classes for a variety of ages – including coding for kids as young as six years old.

Skills

The Robotics World Championship Brings Together Kids from Around the World

It’s no surprise to us that teaching kids robotics can help improve their lives in a number of ways but the recent Robotics World Championship was a particularly inspiring event. A recent article titled Mexican, Central American kids show off robotics talents in Austin does a great job showcasing what was so special about this contents.

“Ana Sofía Orta is only 8 years old, but she’s already decided she wants to do when she grows up: robotics. The little girl from Tamaulipas, Mexico, is on the right path. On May 21, Orta was among 860 children who traveled from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to participate in the Robotics World Championship 2016, an international competition held at Circuit of the Americas to promote the talent and technical skills of kids from countries that are more commonly associated with gangs, drugs and violence.

The all-day event was organized by the Asociación Américana de Robótica y Tecnología, AAROBOTEC, a group that has been promoting robotics competitions among Latin America schools over the last twelve years, said Pedro Bello, president of the organization. Promoting robotics in classrooms encourages children to choose tech-oriented fields and gives them an opportunity to explore their creativity, said Bello, who is also the principal at a private school in Querétaro, Mexico. Robotics “integrates math, physics and computers,” he said. “And through competitions, children learn in an easy, simple and pleasant way.”

One objective of AAROBOTEC is to encourage the creation of robotics programs in more public and private schools, which could increase the number of students who enter technology fields, said Bello. AAROBOTEC had more than 150,000 students who participated in local competitions in Latin America in the last year. The finalists won the trip to Austin to compete in the championships. “We have to invest in education, in robotics” Bello said, emphasizing that the participating countries have. “There is a lot of talent. They are good people.”

Of course, kids don’t have to live in Mexico or Central American to take advantage of the benefits of learning robotics at a young age. At CodeREV we are here to teach kids essential skills and give them tools to move forward with an interesting hobby that could turn into a lucrative career. Check out our after-school programs or tech camps for more information.