Tech Camp

The Minnesota Robotics Institute/ MnDrive RSAM Program has hosted school students during summer in Technology Day Camps for over fifteen years. Tech Camp offers a welcoming and encouraging environment where middle school-aged students can learn about basic technology and skills in robotics and STEM fields. This year, MnRI held three individual camp sessions throughout the summer. The first session was an all-girls camp for 23 Minnesota African Women's Association (MAWA) students. The remaining two sessions were open to the community and gathered about 50 students from the surrounding Twin Cities area. 

Each Tech Camp is a three-day program that is free for all participants. Topics and skills covered during the camp include programming, sensors, electronics, laser-cutting, soldering, and communication. All activities are led by MnRI “Scholars.” This year’s group of Scholars comprised students and researchers from MnRI and Computer Science. 

Each activity focuses on particular concepts and skills related to robotics. Programming is introduced by a PB&J activity, a favorite among the students, where participants write instructions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The instructions are performed by a Scholar in the way a robot might act, resulting in humorous and poorly-made sandwiches that emphasize the need to be specific and consider all outcomes when coding. 

Other activities teach camp participants about electronics. Students learn simple types of circuits using LEDs and Play-Doh and are always surprised to find out Play-Doh conducts electricity! These concepts are further developed in the Sparkfun activity, another student favorite, which teaches breadboarding, Arduino programming, and debugging. They love the opportunity to choose which breadboard project to build. 

Tech Camp covers fabrication methods used in robotics, too. Students learn about laser-cutting and create their own designs to take home at the end of camp. Scholars also teach them how to safely solder and assemble their robot “bugs,” which they can race on the last day of camp. 

At the end of the program, students present slideshows of their experiences to friends and family. It is always a pleasure to see them discuss their favorite parts of camp and how they overcame challenges in activities! Furthermore, Tech Camp is a rewarding experience for Scholars, as they encourage the students’ interests in robotics. One Scholar said, “Students asked me how to continue with robotics and coding. I was excited to share extracurriculars and resources that greatly impacted me when I was their age.”

MnRI would like to extend a special thank you to the following students for volunteering at this year's camps. Current Robotics Masters students Santiago Bazan, Robert Hairston, Adam Imdieke, Helenrose Jorgensen, and Nicholas Padilla; Undergraduate Computer Science student Samuel Martin; and Graduate students outside of MnRI Jungseok Hong, Corey Knutson, and Sakshi Singh. In addition, MnRI staff Travis Henderson and Nicole Kennedy played a vital role in organizing camp activities, schedules, and meals. Finally, a big thank you to MnRI and Nikos Papanikolopoulos for their continued support of the camps over the years and their commitment to giving back to the community by investing in young STEM students.