Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Children will put their brains to the test at the University of North Carolina Wilmington computer science's Lego Mindstorms Robots camp. The two-week camp, designed to instill coordination and creativity in children ages 9 to 12, will be held 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. July 18-29.

Media are invited to cover daily activities by request.

Students working in teams will build and personalize robots made of Legos using computer software and will test them during interactive activities. The camp focuses on the design process, a critical component of developing engineering skills.

"Studies have shown that kids do not really understand what engineers do. This camp allows the young students to participate in similar activities that engineers engage in and encourage them to consider the profession," said Sue Kezios, director of youth camps at UNCW.

Campers will write simple computer programs to make the robots move around, sense things in the environment and make simple decisions. Students may be involved in advanced programming, including computing designed to help robots find their way out of a maze or follow a person holding a shining a flashlight.

Richard Chapman, a visiting professor from Auburn University with experience in teaching robotics courses, will lead the camp. The assistant camp instructors will be UNCW students from the computer science department. Legos Mindstorm is an innovative camp that is part of the "Engineering Expectations" program line.

For more information on the Lego's Mindstorms Robotics, visit: http://us.mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/products/default.aspx .

Media Contact:

Joy Davis, UNCW marketing and communications, 910.632.3903, or davisjc@uncw.edu