July 15, 2009
Robotics Camps Promote Science and Technology to Middle School Students
LINCOLN, Neb. — Give 88 middle school students 44 specialized LEGO kits and you'll be amazed what they come up with.
These middle schoolers from across Nebraska and even some from outside the state gathered during a week in July to learn to build and program robots from a kit called LEGO Mindstorms NXT.
The camps are part of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension 4-H's goal to become a national leader in science education. Last year Nebraska 4-H received a nearly $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to take the robotics curriculum nationwide.
Six five-day beginning and advanced camps called GEAR-Tech-21 were scheduled in June and July in Holdrege, Lexington, Gretna, Aurora and Omaha. Activities focused on building and programming robots and learning Global Positioning Systems and Geographic Information Systems technology.
The intent of the camps is to promote learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, said Bradley Barker, the Nebraska 4-H science and technology specialist and principal investigator on the project.
The largest camp was held the week of July 6 at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center in Gretna. Eighty-eight middle school students attended the level 1 camp. It was the best-attended robotics camp 4-H has had since starting them in 2007, Barker said.
"What makes it fun is that it's hands on," Barker said. "They get to build and program the robots to do just about anything they want."
During the robotics activities, pairs of students each got the Mindstorms kit containing LEGO pieces and all the electronics needed to build the robot, which ends up looking something like a miniature car.
After building them, the students used laptops and specialty software to program their robots so they could be navigated through a course and around obstacles. For example, a robot traveling across the floor would stop and turn before hitting a box placed before it. Light sensors enabled the robots to follow a trail of tape on the floor, and sound sensors let the students get the robots moving by clapping their hands or speaking a verbal command.
Each pair built basically the same robot but they were able to program the robot how they wanted.
"We try to find various levels of challenges for them once they understand the programming," said Kevin Kramer, 4-H science program manager.
"It's really fun," said Haley Ficken, 11, of Lincoln – one of 12 girls among the students at the camp. "I thought it sounded really interesting and I was excited to do this."
In the GPS/GIS part of the camp, students used hand-held GPS devices to track certain areas of the campsite. They used data collected on the devices and mapping software to build customized maps of the site, as well as maps of the state.
Megan Patent-Nygren, 4-H instructional designer who led the activity, said it helps students realize the variety of careers in the technology industry and gives them hands-on learning.
"We have a huge shortage of students going into science and technology careers," she said. "This gives them that light bulb moment where they realize that this is really cool and they can get paid to do this."
Barker expects that the 4-H camps will inspire students to start robotics clubs in their own schools. The robotics curriculum already is spreading across the country. One of the participants at the Gretna camp was Walter Horikawa, a 4-H volunteer from Hawaii who learned about Nebraska 4-H's robotics efforts and came to learn it for himself so he could teach it to others.
Barker hopes that with the grant money Nebraska 4-H will be able to continue to expand its robotics curriculum. He is working with the UNL Department of Computer & Electronics Engineering to develop a new robotics program with an integrated GPS chip that he said will make the robots more robust.
Then, in collaboration with the National 4-H Council and National AfterSchool Association, Nebraska 4-H will work with trainers outside Nebraska to teach the curriculum in 4-H and after-school programs.
7/15/09-LM Brad Barker - Ph.D.
4-H Youth Development Assistant Professor (402) 472-9008
 
Lori McGinnis IANR News and Photography (402) 472-0918
Department:
4-H Youth Development
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