ORLANDO, Fla. — As more parents look for ways to keep their children learning over the summer, Orlando Science Schools Robotics Summer Camp is giving students the opportunity to build more than just robots.
Organizers say that campers develop teamwork, creativity and problem-solving skills through hands-on STEM activities.
“We walk them through the process and kind of watch them build and guide them along the way,” said Sanjana Nagarur, an incoming senior at Orlando Science High School. “And then they end up with a functioning robot that they built just in two weeks.”
Nagarur said that through hands-on challenges, campers are getting an up-close look at science, technology, engineering and math while learning how to bring coding and engineering together to solve real-world problems.
“These are the kinds of fields that are important to introduce them to those skills and allow them to also collaborate with other people,” Nagarur said. “Especially if anyone wants to be, like, an engineer in the real world, you’re not going to be sitting behind a computer on your own.”
The camp welcomes students entering third through ninth grade, with FIRST LEGO League set up for younger students and FIRST Tech Challenge for older campers.
As they work together to build and test their robots, students are also putting their critical thinking, creativity, and imagination to the test.
“So, one of the main things that we really emphasize teaching in this camp is the engineering design process, where the main core concept is iteration upon failure, and we encourage failure here,” said Shri Matha, a rising junior at Orlando Science High School.
Matha said camps like this help introduce children to new technology while giving them access to opportunities they may not otherwise have.
“It’s giving them the knowledge that they need to succeed in life,” Matha said. “So, if they want to continue this passion, it’s really good for them.”
Students said the goal is to inspire the next generation of engineers, programmers and innovators by making STEM fun, interactive, and accessible.
“It’s really nice to see that they’re kind of still growing as a generation and still want to impact the world one day with such passion in their hearts,” Nagarur said.