Students learn what makes robots tick
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers MAKING IT WORK- Kyle Purkiss, center, helps Lauren Galan, left and Katya Etemadieh program software that will operate a mechanized Lego robot during a robotics class offered at Mesa Verde Middle School. The three eighth graders are among the 25 students who enrolled in the pilot enrichment program that will become an elective class next year.

Students in Mesa Verde Middle School's robotics class were busy programming and testing their gadgets last Friday morning as Principal Kelli Hays explained the purpose of the course.

The class is designed to build on the robotics program offered at Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, where the educational emphasis is on math, technology and the sciences. Students who studied robotics at Flory may now continue that learning when they enter Mesa Verde.

"We're trying to extend the enriched learning to the middle school level," Hays said.

Mesa Verde student Katya Etemadieh said, "I took this class because I thought it would be interesting to know how the robots work and what it takes to engineer them." She and classmate Lauren Galan programmed software to operate a Lego Mindstorm robot. "It's pretty fun," said Katya, whose father is an engineer.

The enrichment program is offered three days per week before school this year, but it will be offered as an elective for seventh-graders next year.

All students are invited to sign up for the robotics program until spaces are filled, Hays said.

Children use a lot of math and engineering skills to complete their projects, the principal said. Students assemble the robots' components and use computer software to program the servomotor, a small electric motor used in radio-controlled devices.

Parent volunteer Julie Jeftic said, "It's a great way to teach them how robotics work, where they're used and the importance of getting a good education." Jeftic is a former engineer who worked on the space shuttle, the B2 stealth bomber and the advanced cruise missile program.

Designing engines and building machines that respond to software commands is not only educational and fun, it also requires much creativity, she said.

Mesa Verde has a partnership with NASA, which provides access to NASA's Digital Learning Network. The network connects classrooms with researchers and scientists through videoconferencing.

Hays said, "Our teachers will participate in the Aerospace Education Services Project that provides professional development for teachers on NASA research and education resources.

"This engages students and teachers in human space flight subjects," she said.