When Dwight D. Eisenhower created the People to People Ambassador Program in 1956, it was long before Rosie, the Jetson’s robot maid.  It was also long before Transformers and animated movies featuring robots. It was his vision, however, that led to the future of robotics and has inspired thousands of students over the years as they have been selected to participate in the program. 

 

This year, only three students in the state of West Virginia were selected.  Only one from Bridgeport:  Randy Keener, a sixth grader at Bridgeport Middle School.  Keener, nominated by Johnson Elementary Principal Vicki Huffman, was selected because of his exemplary leadership skills.  “He is always kind to others and has so much potential for programs such as this,” said Huffman.

 

By being selected, Keener recently had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. for a five-day workshop on robotics challenges.  As part of the World Leadership Forum, the People to People Ambassador Program sponsors students from all over the country to participate in activities designed to improve communications skills, critical thinking, and problem solving.

 

One the diverse groups are formed, an emphasis is placed on character traits such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.  Students first had the privilege of listening to Keynote Speaker Dr. Roger K. Crouch, former NASA astronaut and Senior Scientist for the International Space Station.  Next, Daryl Davidson of the AUCSI foundation welcomed the students and they reviewed the elements of robotic design and construction.  They also worked with basic coding and programming using LEGO Mindstorms.

 

The Robotics Challenge started with simple activities such as making the robots, using motors to move them along a specific path, adding sensors for navigation and using color and light to direct them.  The challenges increased in difficulty, moving on to using light sources to make the robot find an object of a certain color, stop, pick it up and say the name of the color.  Students finally used ultrasonic sensors to navigate through a maze without running into anything else.  Gyro sensors guided the robots as directed by the programming.

 

While in D.C., the students also had the opportunity to take in some sight seeing.  “We got to visit the U.S. Capital, Washington Monument, The White House and the memorials,” said Keener.  “We also wrote letters thanking the veterans for their service and my dad is a veteran, so that meant a lot to us.”

 

Over 200 students in grades 5-8 attended the program and follow-up curriculum was given to each students to take back for implementation in their schools. Bridgeport Middle School currently has Academic Enrichment classes in Robotics and competes at state-wide events. “It was an amazing experience,” said Keener, “and I hope to have the chance to participate in more activities like this.”