This Fall at Hewitt, the high school “Programming and Robotics” class is began an interesting initiative; the students were given the opportunity to make and design robots for the 3rd grade at Hewitt to play with. In this Upper School class, the students first learned how to make the standard robot by putting together pieces to form the structure. None of the robots that were made turned out exactly alike. The high schoolers then learned how to program the robots to do basic movements through a system called Python. Ruby Seavey’17, a student in the Programming course, said, “Robotics has been fun so far. We have been learning how to program and build robots. The best part of the class is building and creating the exterior of our own robot. It is so fun to be creative in what you want to build for the 3rd graders.” After learning, building, and programming the students were then ready to meet with the third graders. 

Third grade playing with their robots

The girls prepared questions to ask the third graders and met with the class to find out what they were interested in and what toys they enjoyed playing with. After gathering this information from the third graders, the Robotics students then formulated different profiles with varied personality traits. These profiles were blueprints used by the students as models for the new robot toys. 

“Robotics class this year has been a great experience. Building a robot is a rewarding experience as a whole. When you first start building and coding you are never really sure of the exact steps necessary; however, with the help of your friends you are able to quickly figure it out,” said Alanna Levitt’18, a student in the class. After modeling each robot, the students added amenities that would benefit the users’ specific personality such as their hobbies, likes, and characteristics into the robot toys. 

“Robotics is a challenging course, but Mr. Nauman pushes and inspires me to make the best robot I can make. This course has taught me that when you try hard, you can achieve anything, ” said Jillian Schwartz’19. Not only are the third graders benefiting from the robots but also the students building them. Equally, Mr Nauman,  Robotics and Technology teacher shared, “The most exciting aspect of teaching for me is being surprised and impressed at the inventive technologies my students create. I also feel that it is a privilege to witness the wonderful experiences my students provide others when they make things for other people to use.”

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