Saline Students Host Robotics Outreach Event at Local Library

A Saline High School student helped bring together robotics teams from across the district earlier this month for a hands-on outreach event at the Saline District Library.

Layla, a freshman at Saline High School, organized the event and invited teams from elementary, middle and high school robotics programs to demonstrate their robots and introduce younger students and families to STEM activities.

Library staff said they were impressed by Layla’s professionalism and organization while coordinating the event.

“We wanted to put this together to give a great impact to the community,” Layla said. “It’s about getting more students interested in STEM and helping them learn important skills throughout their education.”

Elementary students from FIRST LEGO League teams demonstrated their competition robot and table, where their robot completes challenge missions. They also brought bins of LEGO pieces so younger visitors could build alongside them and experiment with their own creations.

High school students volunteering at the event said outreach like this helps younger students discover opportunities they might not otherwise know about.

“When I first joined robotics, I didn’t know much about it,” said Avery, a senior at Saline High School. “But it introduced me to a whole new extracurricular where I could really thrive.”

Middle school students also demonstrated their work.

Members of the Saline Middle School FTC team HIVE brought a crane-style robot game they built in about two hours. The robot was designed to pick up pieces of candy, giving younger students a chance to try controlling the machine.

“We started with an idea and built from there,” said Elijah of the HIVE team. “First we added the support frame and motor, then the belt system that guides it, and finally the servos that power the arm and the claw.”

Students from the Hornet Hackers FTC team also brought their competition robot and invited visitors to try driving it.

Throughout the afternoon, younger children gathered around the robotics tables to watch demonstrations, drive robots and build with LEGO pieces while learning about robotics programs in Saline schools.

Families interested in learning more about Saline’s robotics and STEAM programs can visit https://www.salineschools.org/extracurriculars/clubs–activities/steam/.

Featured photo: Students drive a robot during a community robotics event designed to introduce younger students to STEM programs and competitive robotics. Photo by Heather Finch