At Lancaster High School, southern Methodist University has set up a Girls Coding Camp for Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. This camp is designed to introduce young ladies to the world of Robotics and Engineering. Mrs P, a mentor within the coding camp, says, "We are hoping to encourage more young ladies to pursue careers in tech, engineering, and mathematics."
In participating in this program, the ladies are able to gain knowledge of programming and engineering that allows them to be more confident in pursuing a career field that is most commonly sought out by men. In the 8th grade section of the Coding Camp, the girls created programmable robots that were able to be calibrated using downloadable software from a site called "Lego Mindstorm." After downloading the necessary content for their robots to move and create turns, they were able to code it to do many different tasks. By the end of the course the girls were able to set the amount of time it ran, the distance it traveled and even how sharp it made a turn. Along with those commands, their mentor taught them how to download software that enabled their robots to detect color.
"I learned how to build a chassis and a robot out of Legos. It was frustrating toward the end, but after a few times we made it work." Sydnee Marshall, a student in the Coding Camp said after programming her robot. Not all the girls were able to program and code their robots accordingly, and because of that they learned the process of trial and error. This lesson was valuable to learn in order for them to continue to pursue career paths like mathematics, tech, and engineering.
Article and Photography by: Illysia Tartan, Lancaster ISD Communications Summer Intern
In participating in this program, the ladies are able to gain knowledge of programming and engineering that allows them to be more confident in pursuing a career field that is most commonly sought out by men. In the 8th grade section of the Coding Camp, the girls created programmable robots that were able to be calibrated using downloadable software from a site called "Lego Mindstorm." After downloading the necessary content for their robots to move and create turns, they were able to code it to do many different tasks. By the end of the course the girls were able to set the amount of time it ran, the distance it traveled and even how sharp it made a turn. Along with those commands, their mentor taught them how to download software that enabled their robots to detect color.
"I learned how to build a chassis and a robot out of Legos. It was frustrating toward the end, but after a few times we made it work." Sydnee Marshall, a student in the Coding Camp said after programming her robot. Not all the girls were able to program and code their robots accordingly, and because of that they learned the process of trial and error. This lesson was valuable to learn in order for them to continue to pursue career paths like mathematics, tech, and engineering.
Article and Photography by: Illysia Tartan, Lancaster ISD Communications Summer Intern