ETI hosting free after-school STEM programs for middle schoolers

PEMBROKE 一 The Emerging Technology Institute (ETI) X-8 lab is hosting two free Stem-based after-school programs next month. .

The program’s heads are Nikki Chavis, Colby Locklear, Kevin Perez, and Micah Fergeson, though Fergeson was unavailable to comment.

The cohorts are currently open to students in 6th-8th grade.

The first cohort’s first session will be Sept. 10. It will focus on robotics and guide the participants in building a robot themselves. Following the first session, the cohort will meet on Sept. 12 and 17.

The second cohort will be focused on rocket science and begin on Sept. 19, continuing on Sept. 24 and 26. The participants will assemble 3D-printed rockets, with the end goal of a supervised launch.

Each session in both cohorts will run from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

According to Chavis, the X-8 lab is designed for comfort and productivity. The space has ambient lighting options, couches, retro arcade stations, a 3D printer and more.

“We want it to be a place where they can come and hang out,” said Locklear, “but still be doing work, but in a more fun setting that makes it easier to want to be here.”

The initial robotics session is based on an existing competition, the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). According to the FTC website, the challenge is to “design and build a robot using a reusable kit of parts and compete within a common set of game rules” before playing a field game with it.

“The county got a grant to fund middle schools to have their own robotics teams,” Perez said. “I’m using [FTC] ‘s robot to teach basic engineering, programming and electrical concepts.” The students will be led through discussions as they build the robot and learn how and why each part works.

Perez said the robot runs on simple block code, which uses “blocks” of colored text to communicate simple prompts to a robot. He said students should be able to pick it up quickly, as it’s very user-friendly.

The rocketry session will involve the basics of engineering as the students follow along to construct reusable 3D-printed rockets designed by Fergeson, who Locklear said was on his third iteration of the rocket and was likely ready to start printing all of the needed rockets for the program.

The rockets being reusable was a specific point of focus for Fergeson in his design. “Most rockets are one-offs,” Perez said. “You launch it, the motor burns part of the rocket, and that’s it; you have to buy another one.”

Fergeson used a flame-resistant 3D-printed material to protect the rocket from the heat of the motor, which will allow it to be reused in a later program, according to Perez. Overall, this will reduce cost and waste.

The goal of the program is to give the local kids a chance to explore something new and see if they find a passion, said Chavis, but also for the kids to have fun whether they pursue it further or not.

“I want to give the kids an opportunity to do what I didn’t get a chance to do,” Perez said. “I didn’t get to do anything technology related until I was in high school, and even then it wasn’t until halfway through.”

ETI plans to host more and more varied cohorts in the future. “This is the pilot program,” Chavis said, “so we’ll eventually grow to larger scales.” Further cohort ideas include part two for both present cohorts and 3D printing, though no decisions have been made at the time of writing.

Applications are still available for both cohorts until Sept. 1 at eticommunity.com/x8-lab.