2016 SPECTaculaR
Spectrum FRC #3847, St. Agnes Academy and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory students organized a two week summer robotics program called “SPECTaculaR” which stands for Summer Programs Educating Children Through Robotics for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston. The high school students mentored over 50 kids from low-income families to discover and get excited about their potential in science, technology, engineering and math. They used the VEX IQ robotics platform to construct a robot with up to 650 pieces and a software program (Pyhton/Blockly) to give the students the ability to control movement. After they built the robots, they were able to compete in challenges and solve scenarios.
During the two week camp, the engineering team taught engineering principles, programming. “We had first and second graders writing code,” said Strake Jesuit senior Yan Yao. “It’s amazing how quickly they learned. The kids had a lot of fun because it is such a hands on experience.”
“We encourage the kids to take on new challenges, try something new and gain confidence. There’s lots of activity between the kids, computers and the robots.” said Engineering Coach Allen Gregory. “We know this STEM mentoring works and make a difference for kids. We have been running the SPECTaculaR summer camp for the past 5 years. it’s truly a partnership between the Strake Jesuit and St. Agnes students engineering team and the Boys & Girls Club. For the two weeks, the high school students learned to mentor young kids, communicate ideas, develop leadership skills.”
The following Strake Jesuit College Preparatory & St. Agnes Academy helped make a Spectacular a huge success: Yan Yao, Rob Wilkie, Jaime Smith, Thomas Baltz, Jakob Wittry, Alex He, Sara Baltz, Jack Smith, Ben Wilkie, Samuel Henderson, Manolo Munoz, Harrison Bothe, Sara Rogers, Jeff Weissling , Christine Olipas, Jacob Mevis, Michael Boling, Matthew Boling, Sam Bodden, Mark Mahoney
Spectrum FRC #3847 is made up of high school students from St. Agnes Academy and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory two Catholic college preparatory schools in southwest Houston, Texas. St. Agnes is all-girls, and Strake Jesuit is all-boys. http://www.spectrum3847.org
For more information about Spectrum #3847,please visit http://www.spectrum3847.org or contact Spectrum FRC #3847 Mentor, Allen Gregory IV, at Allen.Gregory.IV@gmail.com.
Read MoreDuring the two week camp, the engineering team taught engineering principles, programming. “We had first and second graders writing code,” said Strake Jesuit senior Yan Yao. “It’s amazing how quickly they learned. The kids had a lot of fun because it is such a hands on experience.”
“We encourage the kids to take on new challenges, try something new and gain confidence. There’s lots of activity between the kids, computers and the robots.” said Engineering Coach Allen Gregory. “We know this STEM mentoring works and make a difference for kids. We have been running the SPECTaculaR summer camp for the past 5 years. it’s truly a partnership between the Strake Jesuit and St. Agnes students engineering team and the Boys & Girls Club. For the two weeks, the high school students learned to mentor young kids, communicate ideas, develop leadership skills.”
The following Strake Jesuit College Preparatory & St. Agnes Academy helped make a Spectacular a huge success: Yan Yao, Rob Wilkie, Jaime Smith, Thomas Baltz, Jakob Wittry, Alex He, Sara Baltz, Jack Smith, Ben Wilkie, Samuel Henderson, Manolo Munoz, Harrison Bothe, Sara Rogers, Jeff Weissling , Christine Olipas, Jacob Mevis, Michael Boling, Matthew Boling, Sam Bodden, Mark Mahoney
Spectrum FRC #3847 is made up of high school students from St. Agnes Academy and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory two Catholic college preparatory schools in southwest Houston, Texas. St. Agnes is all-girls, and Strake Jesuit is all-boys. http://www.spectrum3847.org
For more information about Spectrum #3847,please visit http://www.spectrum3847.org or contact Spectrum FRC #3847 Mentor, Allen Gregory IV, at Allen.Gregory.IV@gmail.com.
