Funded by the National Defense Education Program, RoboMasterminds is a new after-school, summer, and internship program for students ages 8-18 and college undergraduates that builds age-appropriate technical skills in robotics, programming, and engineering. Developed jointly by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and the Energetics Technology Center, RoboMasterminds includes STEM activities, workshops, and internships.
The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Indian Head Division (IHD), in collaboration with local partners, are jointly developing a three-year program that introduces defense-relevant STEM concepts and education to students in two Maryland regions — Northeastern Maryland and Southern Maryland — with large populations of underrepresented and military-dependent students.
RoboMasterminds is designed to attract and retain students into an educational “pipeline” of out-of-school-time experiences. The youngest students participate in an after-school program designed as a “classroom in a box” curriculum and offered through local non-profits already serving underrepresented communities.
Using a “train the trainer” approach, ARL and NSWC will teach professionals within partner organizations to successfully deliver the robotics program. Next, the team will develop summer camps where high school juniors and seniors learn to design, build, and program remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROUV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) that interact with human partners. Students will also provide “near-peer” mentorship to students in the earlier programs.
Starting in Fall 2023, participate in after-school programs offered by science centers, libraries, and other non-profit youth organizations in your community. Your sessions will be led by high school and college interns and offered at no cost to you or the host organization.
Will you be a rising high school junior or senior in Summer 2024? Learn how to design, build, and program a remotely operated underwater vehicle and an unmanned ground vehicle at RoboMasterminds summer camps. Then, at the end of the summer, meet up with campers from across the state for a capstone Army/Navy robotics competition!
Summer camp graduates and college students will be recruited for internship positions leading the next generation of robotics learners either in after-school programs or subsequent summer camps. Undergraduate summer internships at ARL or NSWC-IHD are also available. You’ll also get mentoring from robotics scientists and engineers! Please send cover letter/résumé to robomasters@etcmd.com with the subject line “Internship”.
You’ll also have the chance to co-teach during the summer camp sessions and take the curriculum back to your own classroom to use as you wish. You’ll develop new areas of knowledge, meet scientists and engineers working on the cutting edge of robotics, and get subject matter mentoring that will help you in your classroom. Please send cover letter/résumé to robomasterminds@etcmd.com with the subject line “Resource Teacher”.
RoboMasterminds after-school program is available for use by community-based organizations. We will provide the curriculum, some materials, and training/coaching for delivering the curriculum to your learners.
For more information, please contact us at robomasterminds@etcmd.com
