Elementary and middle school students built foam planes, Mars rovers, underwater robots and prototypes that solved environmental problems at camps held this week at St. Vrain Valley’s Innovation Center in Longmont.
Students also made short films as they learned about filmmaking, gave “Shark Tank”-style presentations as they learned about entrepreneurship and took field trips to a solar farm and Left Hand Creek as they learned about bioscience.
“Robotics is our future,” said student teacher Kiley Edwards, an Erie High School incoming junior who worked with students building robots that simulate Mars rovers. “If they learn at a young age how to build them, they’ll be more prepared. They may see that they love robotics and want to do it for a job. I love teaching kids to do stuff like this.”
The Innovation Center on Thursday wrapped up its first week of three weeks of hands-on STEM camps. The June camps are taught primarily by district teachers in partnership with high school students and recent graduates employed by the Innovation Center. About 500 elementary and middle school students are attending, with most camps held for three hours a day over four days.