Education Profs Win Grant to Host Free Robotics Camps for Middle Schoolers

The grant funding will be utilized to host three free “Camp Code” camps in June on the ASU campus. Each five-day, non-residential camp is open to students who will be entering sixth, seventh or eighth grade in the fall of 2021. Participants will learn to build and program robots using the LEGO® EV3 Mindstorms hardware/software platform.

The “Camp Code” camps will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day on the following dates:

• June 7-11 – Beginner camp
• June 14-18 – Beginner camp
• June 21-25 – Intermediate camp

The beginner camps are each open to 24 students and will focus on beginner-level coding and robotics skills.

The intermediate camp is open to 18 students who have prior knowledge of basic coding and robotics skills. It will feature more advanced instruction, as well as real-life problems and challenges like the Space Challenge.

All the camps are free to all participants – and T-shirts and lunches will be provided. Applications for the camps are available at angelo.edu/camp-code.

In addition to coding and robotics instruction, the camps will also feature sessions on team building, information on opportunities to join groups or organizations focused on coding activities, and information on careers in coding, robotics and technology.

This marks the third straight year Purkiss and Gee have been awarded the TWC grant (No. 2921TAN002) to support their coding camp programs. The first camps were conducted during the summer of 2019, but the 2020 camps had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.