Level: Middle and High School
Where: Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon’s new Fostering Innovation through Robotics Exploration (FIRE) program, a DARPA-backed effort to increase middle and high schoolers’ interest in STEM and computer science, will support the creation of programs such as game-like virtual worlds where robot programs can be tested and computerized tutors that teach mathematics and computer science in the context of robotics.

Robin Shoop, the program’s director, wants the programs to be “rigorous, but fun — what we call ‘hard fun.'” Shoop added, “Kids like robots and are innately curious about how they work and how they make decisions. Finding answers to their questions is fun, but technically challenging, and that makes robotics uniquely suited to teaching students computer science, engineering and mathematics.”

The program was created under a new four-year, $7 million educational initiative by Carnegie Mellon University. A colorful FIRE handout can be found here.

For more information:

Robin Shoop
Robotics Academy
10 Fortieth Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Phone: 412-681-7160 Fax: 412-681–6961
Email: fire@rec.ri.cmu.edu

Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs, Web Resources

Tags: Outreach, Robotics, University outreach