Housing authority hosts STEM summer program

Monday kicked off a week of robotics for children in the community as Perry Housing Authority is hosting a robotics summer camp July 1-5. Robot Kids Club LLC that is a business owned by Andrew Dennis Jr. that sponsored the summer camp. This summer camp welcomed kids from both the community as well as those that reside at the Perry Housing Authority.

Dennis focuses on the key four elements of STEM education by providing a basis of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but he also adds social skills to his programs as the kids learn to construct and learn in group settings. By planning this robotics program over four days, the program allows students to learn a fuller range of skills in robotics beyond just the simple construction.

“What we’re doing is a four-day summer camp that is sponsored by Robot Kids Club. Basically, what I do with Robot Kids Club is I go to different schools, churches, museums, and after school programs and teach kids about science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and social skills,” said Dennis.

Though Robot Kids Club, LLC teaches several different programs, robotics is one of the most popular programs that Dennis provides. The program is geared towards helping kids engage with their hands as well as their minds as they learn the basic elements of gear function, computer programming, and different aspects of simple machines.

“We do different hands on activities but one of our most popular activities is robotics. We teach these activities through hands on and minds on activities,” Dennis stated.

The kids that are a part of this summer camp spend each day of the camp learning different aspects of the robotics program. Monday was spent learning the construction and basic programming of movements and speech. In each day succeeding, the kids will learn additional aspects of robotics that help them develop STEM skills. Not only this but working in group settings while learning will help kids learn social skills that are an important part of Dennis’ programs.

“They built the robot itself and learned some basic programs such as how to move forward, how to move backward, how to make it speak and tomorrow they’ll actually use the sensors. So, the sensors are touch sensors, so for example, if they touch the sensor, it will react whether it is moving or whether it was talking,” said Dennis.

Though Robot Kids Club, LLC is an educational business, the partnership it has with churches, communities, schools, and other programs provides available opportunities for students. As this summer camp is free, it gives an open avenue for students to learn and engage. Most importantly, Dennis views this program, his other programs, and the business itself as a way for him to give back to and love the community he lives in.

“Robot Kids Club itself is an educational business, it’s not a non-profit,” said Dennis. “It is a free summer camp, and this is my way of giving back to the community and loving the community.”