7-30-2024 7:33am

HEREFORD HOSTS KIDS

HAVING FUN WITH STEM AT HEREFORD ZONE ROBOTICS SUMMER CAMP

Asked about Hereford Zone Robotics summer camp, Christopher Putnam, camp co-director, says, “My guiding light is to be sure that kids are mostly having fun with STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics].”

When he hears the camp participants laughing and screaming as the robots they built compete in challenges against other teams’ robots, he knows the camp is successful. Students discover that they can work hard as they learn and also enjoy the journey.

“Students discover that they can work hard as they learn and also enjoy the journey.” – Christopher Putnam, camp co-director

Putnam is a technology and agriscience educator and TV club advisor at Hereford Middle School and a robotics advisor for Hereford Zone Robotics. Putnam and Michael Dodd-O, a technology education teacher at Hereford High School, launched the robotics camp at Hereford Middle School in 2011. It has been held every year except for 2020. The camp is one of the primary fundraisers to support the year-round activities of Hereford Zone Robotics.

The campers working on their robots

This year, due to construction at the middle school, the camp was located at Hereford High School. “Being at the high school probably adds a bit to the camp,” Putnam says. “The younger students get to work in a high school lab surrounded by big machines.”

Twenty-six students in Grades 4-7 participated in the half-day camp from July 22-26. Schools represented at the camp were Fifth District, Jacksonsville, Mays Chapel, Prettyboy, Seventh District, and Sparks elementary schools; Hereford and Ridgely middle schools; and two private schools.

Before the camp began, Putnam divided the students into teams of two to three members.

“Each morning, the campers arrive, and we have a ‘sunrise session,’ where we go over new information about coding and building,” Putnam explains. “Then they spend the rest of the morning building and testing their robots.”

The last day of camp 2024

The campers are supported by 10 camp counselors, who are mostly Hereford High students and one Hereford High graduate.

Three of the counselors who participated in the robotics camp when they were younger noted that the camp now is larger and offers more activities. Elijah Hough, a recent Hereford High graduate who is headed to college, says he returned to the camp to give back. “I love getting to teach students what I learned and know about,” Hough says. “I like to see them experience the fun and also the stress of robotics. . . . . I am surprised by the ideas they come up with that I hadn’t even thought of.”

“I love getting to teach students what I learned and know about. I like to see them experience the fun and also the stress of robotics. . . I am surprised by the ideas they come up with that I hadn’t even thought of.” – Elijah Hough, camp counselor

Another counselor, Peter O’Connor, a Grade 8 student at Hereford Middle School, says he enjoyed the campers’ enthusiasm. He adds, “I am surprised by how smart some of them are. They already have a background in robotics and coding.”

Peter’s brother, Mason O’Connor, a Grade 10 student at Hereford High School, says his favorite part of being a counselor is “watching the campers figure out how to solve a problem they are having with a robot” and “seeing how excited they are.”

“It was really nice that among the counselors were three high school girls,” Putnam says. “They are doing great things at Hereford High. One camp counselor even left early one day to earn her pilot’s license. We would love to have more girls participate in the camp. [Four girls participated this year.] We want them to know that this is for them, too. Sometimes you just need to ‘see it to be it.’”

By the end of the week, students have learned new skills in coding and building, including learning about pneumatics, and practiced teamwork. The week concludes with a Friday challenge game created by the counselors who emcee and coordinate the activity. The campers’ families are invited in to observe the game, celebrate their children’s achievements, and watch them receive certificates.