Macie Schrad (left) and Cadence Desy get down to the level of their robot to follow it around a course set up in the basement of the building where Crawford County ISU Extension is located. A point value was assigned to each colored piece of paper. The objective of youth participating in the robotics camp on June 22 was to program their robot to travel across the pieces of paper to acquire points. This required programming the robots to travel certain distances forward and turns. *PHOTO BY GORDON WOLF*

As every parent knows, kids grow up quickly, and any skills they learn today may lead to careers in the future.

That was a focus of a robotics camp hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Crawford County on June 22.

The camp was open to youth in grades 4-8 and was designed to set them on the path to careers in STEM (Science, Engineer, Technology and Math) if that is their choice.

“One objective of the robotics camp is to look at college career readiness skills,” said Mary Taggs, 4-H youth program specialist. “And we spoke about what it means to be a computer programmer and the job market opportunities for programmers.”

Meeting the four basic needs of youth: belonging, independence, generosity, and mastery, along with collaborative work and team-building were a part of this robotics camp and are a part of all 4-H programs. County youth staff work to provide these types of hands-on educational opportunities to all youth within the county, including Clover Kids, 4-H members, school enrichments, camps, and other activities throughout the county.

“We learned about coding, and we learned all the other parts of STEM (including math and engineering),” said Taggs.

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**Addyson Hanson and Genevieve Bonner program the path their robot will take.** *PHOTO BY GORDON WOLF*

The campers also had to decipher coding programs and use critical thinking skills to complete challenges. Taggs and Cassie Reimers, youth outreach coordinator, provided some assistance but never the answers.

“This was about discovery,” Taggs affirmed.

She spoke about the satisfaction of learning.

“Not everything is easy, but when you accomplish those hard tasks, you get the sense of accomplishment,” Taggs said. “That mastery that young people build is just overwhelming.”

Taggs spoke about curriculum being developed by Iowa 4-H to provide school enrichment opportunities in computer science with the goal of rollout during Computer Science Education Week, which occurs on the second week of December each year.

She added that this collaboration depends on what each county Extension Council decides to offer and the school schedules.

Reimers invited any teacher to contact her about ways she can add to classroom learning.

“As the new youth outreach coordinator, I hope to be involved in the schools,” she said. “Teachers can reach out to me to do activities in their classrooms if they want.”

People may contact Reimers by calling the Extension office at 712-263-4697.

More about ISU Extension and Outreach can be found online at
www.extension.iastate.edu.