A youth robotics competition team for sixth through ninth graders in Battle Creek will be able to continue to provide young people with hands-on experience in science, technology, engineering, and mechanics thanks to a $11,000 grant from the
Battle Creek Community Foundation.
The program offered at Kellogg Community College, known as Bruin Bots, began last fall and team members worked together to build and program a robot to compete in regional competition against other robotic teams.
An expanded youth robotics initiative at KCC that included LEGO engineering and robotics camps and a free Bruin Bots After-School Club this spring grew from the team, which also is affiliated with FIRST, a national nonprofit that encourages young people to explore science and technology through robotics competitions.
In one
related class offered this summer students will learn the basic design concepts required to create functioning robots. They will also learn about different types of robots and where they are used in the real world. Students will design and build robots that can perform certain tasks to complete challenges. This 16-hour camp teaches students critical technology and design principles.
KCC Youth Robotics Coordinator Kim Andrews-Bingham says Bruin Bots will provide young people with key technical skills for the future.
“Through this grant we can engage even more students as we work to prepare our youth for the jobs of tomorrow,” says Andrews-Bingham.
The Battle Creek Community Foundation grant is the third grant awarded to the Bruin Bots this year. In February, the program received a grant for $3,424 from the United Educational Credit Union’s Bright Ideas Program to purchase robotics materials and supplies. In May the program received a $1,200 grant from the KCC Foundation to purchase software.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Simon A. Thalmann, Kellogg Community College
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