The use of Legos to build robots sparked the imaginations of more than two dozen students, while also engaging and exposing a segment of the community to possible career opportunities.
A free Legos robotics camp that targeted Latino students ages 8 to 14 allowed them to explore engineering as part of a week-long summer camp at the Purdue Polytechnic Columbus campus.
Now in its second year, the camp is designed to expose youths to science, technology, engineering and math, said camp director Joseph Fuehne, who also heads the Purdue Polytechnic Columbus campus.
The camp allows students to explore robotics for three hours each day through a partnership with IT Robotics, which is headquartered in Spain but also has a location in North Vernon.
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Lego robots are built and programmed with instructions that are provided, allowing 30 campers to participate in challenges throughout the week, Fuehne said.
The camp has also proven to be a popular one, he added.
“After last year, it was such a success, so we said, ‘Let’s try it again,’” Fuehne said.
Fuehne said the camp was targeted to Latinos after recognizing there weren’t a lot of individuals from that population signing up for the regular camp.
“We wanted to try to do something to engage that community,” he said. “We try to put out there that there are careers in robotics.”
Students got a chance to put their robots to the test on Friday during several challenges that drew about 20 spectators, most of whom were parents, to the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence. The event was based on last year’s FIRST Lego League competition, Fuehne said.
Columbus resident Karla Maldonado returned to the camp this year after participating last summer. The 13-year-old, who attends St. Bartholomew Catholic School, said the camp allows individuals to think, adding that she was likely to pursue a career in robotics.
“It’s really fun to figure out how to solve the challenges,” she said.
Alfredo Hernandez, 13, said he enjoyed building the robot with his teammates Alejandro Jimenez and his brother Jhonatan Hernandez, saying that it also allowed him to use his imagination at the same time.
“You have to use your mind,” Alfredo Hernandez said.
Columbus resident Alma Eufrasio, whose son Jesus Lopez participated in the camp, said she registered her 13-year-old because of his interest in robotics. He also aspires to be a robotics engineer someday, she added.
“This has been beneficial to him,” Eufrasio said. “He loves Legos, he likes to program.”
Tomas Alatriz came to watch his 8-year-old son Alexander compete in the challenges and said the camp will help expose and provide the Parkside third-grader with knowledge and technology to become an engineer.
“He will have a broad spectrum,” Alatriz said. “I think it’s one of the best ways to learn.”
At the end of the day, the camp is all about kids having fun, Fuehne said.
“Whether they choose to be a robotics engineer or not, it’s about getting them to think about STEM things for a career,” he said. “I will help them as much as I can, but I want them to be thinking as much as they can.”
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30: Number of Latino students participating in the LEGO robotics camp
16: Number of challenges individuals participated in this week
2: Years the camp has been in existence
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