Latino STEM Alliance’s Robotics programs engage students in fun and exciting hands-on activities where they learn to build and program robots to address specific challenges and obstacle courses. Most students have no prior experience with mechanics, electronics, or programming yet the entire engagement is designed to slowly develop these skills and demonstrate how they apply to everyday life.

The programs leverage diverse and well-known robotics platforms along along with activities developed by Latino STEM Alliance and other organizations. Depending on the location, the program may include competitions among students within the program as well as with students from other schools and communities. All activities are age appropriate and tie back to Massachusetts Department of Education standards by grade level.

Summer 2012

Latino STEM Alliance partnered with Hyde Square Task Force (Jamaica Plain) and Nativity Middle School (Worcester) to deliver Robotics camps for middle & high school students in Boston & Worcester.

A total of 3 teams were engaged:

• Nativity Middle School: Rising 5th grade students participated in a two week long program using the FIRST Lego League format including NXT kits from Lego Education.
• Hyde Square Task Force: Rising 5th grade students from Kennedy Elementary School participated in a five week long program using the FIRST Lego League format including NXT kits from Lego Education.
• Hyde Square Task Force: Rising 9th grade students from English High School participated in a five week long program using the FIRST Technology Challenge format including NXT & Tetrix sets from Lego Education.

The camps culminated with an exciting Robotics Tournament where students were able to showcase the robots they built and have them compete against the robots of other students in the program in SUMO matches (middle school) and a Basketball challenge (high school).

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