Robotics programs for kids are more readily available
"How long could it take to make a robot?" asked a young patron from the Wauconda Area Library.
Robots are everywhere. They made your car, they shipped packages to your house, and sometimes they're the main event at kids' birthday parties.
Just like a book, you can even check one out of the library. Google's Finch Robot, designed to teach robotics and coding, is now available at the Chicago Public Library branches.
Kids love learning how to program and build machines, and parents support activities that teach STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and STEAM (art, too).
Starting with the basics - building mechanical arms that grab and release lightweight items - to designing and constructing more advanced programmable underwater swimming robots, robot building is becoming as familiar as apple pie.
Understanding the science behind robots can make students eligible for certain college scholarships and formulate a foundation for a future career.
"Robotics is a niche club which asks a lot from students in terms of a time commitment and learning-on-the-fly," Mundelein High School Robotics Club co-sponsor Rodolfo Cabrera said. "Whenever possible, parent support helps the team to focus and streamline the various jobs needed to compete effectively."
Depending on skill level and the project, it might only take a few minutes to assemble a robot, Cabrera said. Three types of robotics activities available for young people include Lego robotics, which gives the user time and skills to become familiar with basic coding and assembly principles, and two levels of team robotics challenges.
First Tech Challenge (FTC), for students in grades 7-12 offers teams a format to design, build and operate robots and compete in state and regional tournaments.
The advanced First Robotics Competition (FRC) attracts high school teams worldwide to compete in a six-week challenge. A kit is provided to fabricate industrial-sized robots and respond to a common challenge.
Another ROV (remotely operated vehicle) program, MATE, invites middle, high school, college students and teams from youth organizations to compete in regional and international competitions.
Both FTC and FRC require adult mentor participation, a community service commitment and fundraising efforts to underwrite the materials costs. Both offer college scholarship opportunities for competitors. Other national youth organizations see the value in providing robotics instruction, including Robotics 4-H, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
Classes and workshops are often available through park districts and libraries, like Wauconda Area Library, which offers Lego WeDo Robotics classes for third- through fifth-graders, and an annual STEM summer camp for middle school students.
Mundelein High School offers a summer STEAM camp and a summer robotics workshop, SeaPerch, in which middle school students create underwater robots, programming the machine to swim in the school's pool with the help of U.S. Navy personnel from Naval Station Great Lakes.
Check it out
The Wauconda Area Library suggests these titles on robotics:
• "How to Build a Prize-Winning Robot," by Joel Chaffee
• "Creative Projects with Lego Mindstorms," by Benjamin Erwin
• "Robots," by Clive Gifford
• "Robot World," by Tony Hyland
• "The Robotics Club: Teaming Up to Build Robots," by Therese Shea