Carolina Elementary, Governor’s School continue after-school robotics program
Fifth graders at Carolina Elementary gather for a group photo at the conclusion of a six-day robotics collaboration with students from the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics.
Fifth graders at Carolina Elementary School recently had the opportunity to collaborate with robotics students from the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) during a six-day after-school program.
The 18 Carolina Elementary students worked alongside the GSSM students to learn about robotics technology and build their own robots. It was the fifth year Carolina Elementary and GSSM held the outreach program.
Donna Barrett, principal at Carolina Elementary, described the collaboration as an excellent opportunity for her students to work as a team and get hands-on experience with 21st century technology.
“I think it gave them a sense of what they will be doing in the future with technology,” she said. “The students were totally engaged every minute. Also, being able to interact with the high school students really helped them to develop relationships.”
Carolina Elementary students and Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics students demonstrate the capabilities of robots they created recently during a collaborative program.
Ten GSSM student mentors brought robot-building kits to Carolina Elementary each day after school. Seven robot teams designed their own machines that ultimately navigated an obstacle course of sorts on the final day. Parents and Carolina Elementary faculty attended the presentations. Prior to showing off their robots, several of the Carolina Elementary students explained to the parents what they built, how the robots work and the different sensors each robot used to complete its task.
Dr. Mary Thomas, school counselor at Carolina Elementary, helped organize the collaboration and said parents also enjoyed the program.
“Getting to talk to the Governor’s School students was fantastic, and our kids just clicked with them,” she said. “They just had a ball, and the parents were saying how excited their students were.”
The Carolina Elementary students who participated in the program include Andrew Askins, Mia Trader, Conner Barfield, Louis Cook, Chandler Greene, Kathryn Bethea, Jada Blue, Triniti Henderson, Shea Holt, Clayton Miles Hall, Chloe Moore, Chloe Hammond, Taylor Salazar, Turner Peel, Jacob Pulling, Premal Patel, Robert Bridges Teal and Melissa Ransome.
The GSSM student mentors include Evan Livingston, Dennis Daly, Anish Chaluvadi, Yohan Moon, Lam Nguyen, Jamaal Jacobs, Saulo Arias Hernandez, Hunter Damron, Danni Arega and Jack Tabb.
For more information, please visit www.darlington.k12.sc.us and www.scgssm.org.
