Students measured wires, soldered metal connections, problem solved, and demonstrated their knowledge of closed circuit systems. Every student was able to build his or her own robot. This year, Spout was again included in the eighth grade curriculum, but this time students were able to race their robots against one another.
Also this year, students in the after school Science Program, Up & Atom, are attempting to create a robot they will eventually code with moving instructions. Progress is going very well. So far all of the robots are working.
The idea for the school’s robotics program came to St. Hyacinth science teacher Lisa Lorch at the First Annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Symposium in Sacramento in 2013. There, she attended a session from Khan Academy where these robots were introduced to the audience. In an effort to move St. Hyacinth into 21st Century teaching, Lorch has implemented the robotics project she observed through Khan Academy.