By Sean Mills | Staff Writer | Rome Sentinel | SMills@RNYmedia.com
ROME — Roughly two dozen grade school students from around the area spent their Winter Break this week learning the STEM fields at day camps hosted by the Griffiss Institute in Rome.
The Winter Sphero Camp served as an introduction to computer programming using the Sphero BOLT, a remote-controlled ball with a computer inside that can be programmed to do different tricks. The camp was free and was put on by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab.
“We’ve taught the kids how to program. … We’ve taught them if/then, we’ve taught them variables, we’ve taught them loops, movements, sounds, motions, displaying images; they’ve done all that on the Sphero robot,” said Jeff DeMatteis, test lead at the AFRL.
Eight students from third to fifth grade took part in the Sphero camp, from seven local school districts.
“It’s basically to get them excited about STEM, to teach them introductory to programming, to let them know it’s not too hard and anyone can do it,” DeMatteis stated. “Doesn’t matter what their background is, and that programming can be fun.”
The Inventioneers: Build the Future Engineering Camp was a paid camp that hosted 11 students from Tuesday to Friday this week. Each day involved using arts and crafts to build inventions to solve real-world issues.
“This week, specifically, it’s all about inventing,” said Clarissa Cressotti, STEM educator and outreach specialist for the Griffiss Institute, which put on the camp. Thursday’s project involved helping wildlife, and each day ended with the students mimicking the television show “Shark Tank” to sell each other and the teachers on their ideas.
“They pitch it to each other, and the kids have to invest in the other kids’ projects and see if it could work,” said Cressotti.
The Griffiss Institute hosts multiple camps throughout the year, both free and paid camps. The AFRL will be presenting 15 camps this summer, officials said. More information about the camps and when to apply — with students picked via lottery — is available at griffissinstitute.org.
