Asbury Park, NJ – Thanks to generous funding by Walmart and training by Stevens Institute of Technology, Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County (BGCM) staff incorporated a WaterBotics STEM curriculum into its programming this summer. BGCM was one of only 10 New Jersey Boys & Girls Clubs fortunate enough to have this opportunity.
In WaterBotics, teams of middle and high school students engage in problem-based learning as they collaborate to design, build, test, and redesign underwater robots made of LEGO®components, motors, propellers, and other materials. Student teams complete a series of design challenges or “missions” that increase in complexity and require more sophisticated solutions. Ultimately, students produce a fully functional underwater robot capable of maneuvering in a three-foot-deep pool.
For four weeks during BGCM’s summer camp, Club kids spent the mornings learning the concepts behind the technology and the afternoons working as teams to accomplish missions, applying what they learned in the WaterBotics pool. “Our kids are always learning when they are at the Club, even throughout the summer. But the WaterBotics curriculum has taken their STEM instruction to a new level,” stated Stephanie D’Alessio, BGCM’s Director of Education and Programming. “Even though we were exploring concepts like buoyancy and gravity, they were having so much fun, I don’t think they even realized they were learning!”
For more information about WaterBotics, please contact Stephanie D’Alessio at stephanie@bgcmonmouth.org.
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