Robotics program puts real-world STEM in the hands of Alexandria middle schoolers

This past week we have had some of the middle school students from a number of schools here in Alexandria City public schools, just working on a VEX IQ robotics project, with it being a simulation very similar to that of a NASA's Mars Perseverance missions and other rover missions. I thought this was really important to do this. This is something that I actually came up with because I was like, hey, Mars rovers are robots. The robots that they're making look very similar to the Mars rovers. So I was like, hey, let's just make a theme around Mars rovers. So this puts everything into a real-world context. You're basically, in a way, working alongside figuring out some of the problems in a smaller scale to what actual NASA engineers are currently figuring out right now. So that just puts the camp into this whole real-world thing where it's like, not only are you working on a simulation technically of an actual mission. You are basically doing something on a smaller scale than actual engineers are doing right now. We kind of have a different kind of career spotlight each day. So mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and then we'll get to do some aerospace engineering tomorrow. We want to make sure that kids get to hear about different types of engineering and that they know that all engineers aren't the same, but there's different things that different types of engineers do. And even how engineer's work together to design something like a Mars Rover. For engineering, you kinda have to know how to work with everyone else. And all types of engineers always come together to solve problems, fix everything for them. It's really nice to see all types of engineers coming together. We want students to see that there are so many different pathways that they can explore in the STEM field. And we also want them to have the experience of working through what those particular fields will entail with building a device, programming it, testing it, but also working in pairs with their partners and connecting with other students within their classroom as well to find ways to improve upon what they're building. We have graduate and undergraduate students who are pursuing engineering programs of study at Virginia Tech who have designed the program and is implementing it. And that is a beautiful demonstration of our mission, Ut Prosim, that we may serve. We're bringing high-quality, engaging STEM and computing programs to the broader community of Alexandria that will one day contribute to our overall society in meaningful ways. STEM isn't this like very huge, very scary thing. It's something that's very doable and I think that that's something that I would've loved to have heard when I was 11 years old. How do I go from just knowing nothing about STEM to just knowing so much. And I think just this type of program is to start for that. Our future will require students that have broad skills and knowledge and capacities to thrive in our digital society. And stem is an area of great need. Providing experiences for younger students now is leveraging the intellectual capacity of our youth now and giving them opportunity to create solutions to problems that are unknown to us today. Because we need the students currently to frame the future for us.

impact 3:47 Robotics program puts real-world STEM in the hands of Alexandria middle schoolers

By:

Luke Hayes

14 Mar 2023 427

Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus partnered with College of Engineering undergraduate and graduate students and faculty to provide a Red Rover Robotics Program to middle schoolers in Alexandria City Public Schools.