Girls Support NASA, Women's History with Robotics
Tue Mar 22 2011
Nearly 30 girls participated in the Girls as Robotics Engineers workshop Saturday at the Center for Educational Technologies.The workshop invited girls in grades 3-8 to work with robots just as NASA scientists do. The event was held as part of NASA's effort to support Women's History Month in March. The girls learned to build a LEGO robot and then program it to solve the same kinds of missions NASA does on Mars with its exploration rovers.
As part of the Classroom of the Future's continuing partnership with the PBS Kids SciGirls program, the girls watched an interview of Jet Propulsion Laboratory robotics engineer Ayanna Howard, who discussed how some of her childhood experiences influenced her choice of career.
The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Meri Cummings, science resource teacher and lab manager at the center and director of the annual FIRST LEGO League West Virginia state robotics tournament.
Cummings will lead a second workshop, Girls as NASA Robot Engineers, on April 16 also at the Center for Educational Technologies. For more information contact her at 304-243-2499 or at meri@cet.edu. You can also download the registration form .
