Students in the Brownsville Area, Laurel Highlands, and Uniontown Area School Districts benefited from a $12,000 grant for the STEM and Computer Science Initiative. The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) partners with Penn State Extension’s Fayette County 4-H for this initiative, led by 4-H Educator Jennifer Deichert. The foundation’s grant was used for the 2022 Race Day workshop and competition, where students learned how to program robots to navigate a bowtie-shaped race track and play table-top dodgeball.
A group of students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade participated in Race Day. SPIKE™ Prime sets were provided for students to use drag-and-drop coding language to maneuver their robots around the race track and dodgeball table. Each set includes a programmable Hub with built-in gyro to determine direction, three sensors (distance, force, and color), one large motor, two medium motors, wheels, and over 500 LEGO® Technic™ elements.
“Teams modified their robot’s design and used a variety of the programming skills acquired throughout the school workshop to upgrade their robot’s performance,” explained Deichert.
Members of the 4-H Robotics Club served as teen leaders to share their knowledge in robot design and programming. These particular students are members of FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team #16011. They compete with other FTC teams in the state, and they design and manage robotics workshops and competitions for Fayette County youth.
CFFC awarded an additional grant of $26,665 to Albert Gallatin Area, Brownsville Area, Frazier, Laurel Highlands, and Uniontown Area School Districts for the STEM and Computer Science Initiative to continue the program in 2023.
This grant opportunity is made possible through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s (DCED) Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) Program. Eligible businesses are encouraged to participate in this tax credit program. More information can be found at https://dced.pa.gov.
“This is a special program that incentivizes businesses to support education through philanthropy. CFFC is an approved EIO Organization and we’re grateful to award grants for exciting learning opportunities like the STEM and Computer Science Initiative,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.
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*All photos included in this feature were submitted by Penn State Extension’s Fayette County 4-H.
