Every time we start a new project, we get excited about the good experiences we will get from achieving it, but there are also doubts and many questions to answer. However, we know that along the way we will have many opportunities to show ourselves and our society that we are capable of reaching the proposed objectives.
This is the case with our new VEX robotics project. We are content to put in the hands of youth in southern Intibucá one more opportunity to keep enriching their STEM knowledge through the teaching of the building, programming, and driving of a new robotics kit.
Students using the STEM center to learn about VEX
Alan Ostrow, an experienced robotic's teacher, traveled from the United States to Camasca Intibucá this past week to teach the students the basic skills to start this new journey. We had the participation of 14 high school graduates, who had previously been involved in FIRST Global. During the first day, they learned the mechanical part of building the robot, and on the second day, they practiced programming, running the function of the six robots they had assembled.
Students assembling VEX kits
To end these two great days of learning, Alan organized a competition between them to demonstrate their acquired skills. It was fun! They showed a lot of excitement and enthusiasm as if they were participating in a championship.
Please watch the video below:
It is only the beginning of a new trajectory, but we know that if we work together, little by little, we will achieve our youth obtaining an education of Excellence based in STEM.
We are experimenting with hiring a local teacher for a couple of hours a week to support these alumni in this learning process. We hope they continue meeting for the rest of the school year. While this is a temporary solution for the project initiation, we hope to collaborate next year with the Minister of education for a dedicated VEX mentor and high school robotics track teacher.
Thanks to our great donors for investing in the future of Honduras!