Thanks to a $150,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, hundreds of 10 to 14 year olds from across the city have the opportunity to participate in two-hour robot building workshops. The workshops are a joint initiative of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Ontario, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Toronto and the Ontario Science Centre. Volunteers from Celestica, a world leader in electronics manufacturing services, and Toronto Police Services also lend a hand in the 12 workshops held in 2006 and 2007.

“One of the areas where funding is not readily available is in science and technology,” said Pam Blanchfield, Program Director for Boys and Girls Clubs.  “Our children and youth don’t have a lot of access to those activities through our club, so when the Ontario Science Centre approached us, it seemed like a wonderful way to expose our young people to new adventures and the whole idea of science.” 

During the Saturday workshops, children build a small robotic Sumo-Bot and program it to undertake four tasks: to navigate a maze, to seek out light, to play “robot soccer” and fight sumo-style. Participants are further inspired by a demonstration of bomb disposal robots by the Toronto Police Services. After the workshop, the children have the day to tour the Science Centre.

(Front to Back) Kevin Li, Frank Jiang from Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club, and Robert Atkinson from Celestica as they learn how to build a robot.

“We actually got to take the robot home!” says one 10-year-old participant from the Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Clubs. “And I liked that there were a lot of nice people to help us build our robots.”

Brad McCabe, senior associate, Development, with the Ontario Science Centre, explains that there’s a clear gender split in what the children want their robots to do.

“The boys love having their robots sumo wrestle or play soccer,” he says. “The girls, on the other hand, enjoy programming their robot to solve puzzles or dance. But they all experience a tremendous sense of accomplishment while seeing how exciting the world of science and technology can be.”

McCabe adds that participants go home with a CD-ROM that allows them to continue programming their robot. There are follow-up workshops available for kids eager to take their robotic skills to the next level.

The robot building workshops not only help children develop confidence and technological skills, they inspire them to consider careers in robotics or engineering.  According to the Boys and Girls Club of Ontario and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Toronto, early teen/pre-teen youth are traditionally at a crossroads when it comes to continuing studies in the sciences.  The workshops show them that science is fun. 

According to Brian Conway, OTF program manager for Central Ontario, this collaborative project helps the Ontario Trillium Foundation meet its objective of providing community-based learning opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.

“With OTF support, 600 children will benefit from an enriched educational experience that would ordinarily be financially inaccessible,” he says.  “The robot-building experience provides learners with fun and hands-on opportunities that support the science and technology objectives of the Ontario education curriculum.”