For 15 years, Purdue Polytechnic Columbus Director Joe Fuehne has held robotics camps in several different communities, including Shelbyville, Greensburg, Scottsburg, Seymour, North Vernon, Rising Sun and Columbus.
However, across all of those years and in all of those places, there’s been something missing — or, to be more specific, someone.
"Since 2006, up until this week, I had not had a single African-American child in my camp," Fuehne said.
Nineteen students participated in a Robotics STEM Camp for ages 9 to 14 held in a C4 classroom at Columbus East High School recently, said Lori Thompson, a member of Paths to Success. The community action group, which works to "inspire, support and motivate Black and biracial students to achieve academic excellence," took care of the camp’s organization and logistics, she said.
Purdue Polytechnic put on the day camp in collaboration with the Indiana Next Generation Manufacturing Competitiveness Center, with Fuehne providing instruction.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. allowed organizers to hold the camp at Columbus East High School, which Thompson said the school district called a "win-win," as it would give organizers a location for the camp and introduced students to C4 facilities. BCSC also provided meals for students.
If the camp is planned again for 2022, Fuehne said he hopes to host it at Purdue Polytechnic, to introduce participants to the campus and "what’s possible if they stick with it."
During the camp, participants worked on robotics, math, learned about sensors and practiced for a robotics competition.
Fuehne compared the kids’ contest to FIRST LEGO League, where teams are given three to four months to work on solving different challenges with their robots.
The campers, however, only had about three or four hours to work on their goals, he said. During the camp competition, student teams were on the clock as they chose to attempt different challenges, which earned them different points depending on the degree of difficulty.
Students also earned points throughout the week, which contributed their team’s overall score. All students selected LEGO sets to take home, with the highest scoring team getting first pick of the prize table. Cash awards were also given to students for teamwork, perseverance and adaptability.
"The interesting thing was unexpected lessons in social graces such as working in teams, supporting one another and sharing what they learned to help those who might have fallen behind," Thompson said.
Iizayah Frye, 14, said that his favorite part of the camp was interacting with the younger campers. "It’s just been really good, hanging out with all the other kids here, especially the kids that have no experience," he said. "I liked helping the other kids."
Shannell Carroll, 13, said that while her stepdad works in engineering, the STEM camp was a new experience for her. "It’s fun," she said. "It’s more interesting than I thought."
She said she enjoyed the math component and getting to make her robot move.
Thompson said that it’s important to provide opportunities such as this camp because data shows a "significant disparity" regarding the percentage of Black people in STEM-related jobs, which often pay more than other occupations.
It is critical for students to get plugged into math and sciences early on so that they can find success in these fields and explore areas they may not have previously considered, she said.
"It gives them the confidence to know that they are quite capable of doing great things," she added, "and they should pursue these areas with gusto because they are able to see that they can do it!"
A similar LEGO robotics camp has been held for Latino students for the past few years. According to the TuFuturo Latino Education Group’s social media, this summer’s camp is set for June 21 to 25 at Columbus East. The camp is full and registration is closed.
Fuehne said that the Latino camp’s registration filled up in two days, and added that he thinks this new camp, if it continues, could be just as popular.
"I hope this is something we can do every summer," Fuehne told families at the end of the camp.
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Purdue Polytechnic Columbus presented the Robotics STEM camp in collaboration with the Indiana Next Generation Manufacturing Competitiveness Center, with Fuehne providing instruction. Paths to Success handled logistics and organization for the camp.
BCSC provided the use of a Columbus East High School C4 classroom and meals.
The African American Fund of Bartholomew County was the primary sponsor for the camp.
"We also received contributions from some members of the Bloomington police force, the NAACP and Calvary Community Church provided a van to transport students whose parents were not able to do so," she added. "The way that everything came together was fantastic and we are grateful to all of our partners.”
Additionally, Taylor Brothers Construction Co. provided masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes.
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To learn more about Purdue Polytechnic, visit https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/.
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