Children in George Town, Beaconsfield and Devonport have been given a bag full of wheels, wood and computer parts and been asked to build a robot in a program that aims to increase participation in maths and science.
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Over three sessions, students will build the robots before learning to program them to navigate an obstacle course.
The aspirational program, based on the Better Things program pioneered in the Huon Valley, has received funding to be implemented into schools in Northern Tasmania, giving more children the chance to have a real world experience of science.
The program wants to harness the enthusiasm grade 5 and 6 students have for maths and science said program teacher, Bob Elliot, “The key issue is, we want to encourage people to do science and engineering… If you don't grab their attention when they’re young, they aren't willing to do what they perceive as the hard yards of studying maths and sciences.”
The next step for the program is to deliver it to remote schools by videolink.