This past weekend, growingSTEMS went on the road to bring STEM to Teen Institute (TI), a Leadership and Drug Prevention camp. For the second year in a row we were invited to TI in Kena, Wv to inspire the campers with STEM. TI is a leadership and drug prevention camp where campers learn about the benefits of a drug/tobacco free lifestyle, in addition to participating in activities designed to create leadership.
growingSTEMS put on a one hour interactive demonstration, consisting of robotics, the making and eating of rock salt ice cream, and making gak. To tie in with the theme of TI the growingSTEMS members also spoke about how being drug free has helped them in their careers. After the demonstration growingSTEMS stayed for free time where they provided STEM activities for the campers such as Racin’ Rovers, Non-Newtonian Fluid, and Paper Rockets.
This event featured the debut of a brand new growingSTEMS activity Racin Rovers featured in the picture above. In this activity participants are challenged to build a custom rover out of a Lego NXT robotics kit that can navigate the varying terrain which includes hills, a uneven slope, a rock garden, and logs. In addition to the terrain challenge 4 Rovers can go head to head in a race to place their game piece into the goal at the center. Each rover is pre-programmed with a custom remote control software written by growingSTEMS which allows the participants to drive their rovers wirelessly with XBOX controllers.
View more pictures from this event our our Media page.