About the Project

This three-year Nebraska 4-H project will develop, deploy and evaluate a comprehensive robotics educational intervention. Targeted at students in grades 7 — 9, the project will build upon an existing partnership between Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the 4-H Cooperative Curriculum System (4-H CCS) in the development of robotics curricula. The proposed project will extend this work to incorporate student activities and lessons from Carnegie Mellon&s Robotics Explorer 2.5 curriculum, as well as the development of new lessons focusing on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Satellites (GPS). The project will produce a student booklet that will serve as a road map to direct students through the existing curricula. A comprehensive leaders/parents booklet will also be developed to guide implementation of the robotics program in 4-H clubs. These materials will form the basis of a two-year comprehensive 4-H club program that includes over 120 contact hours per year and an intensive summer institute where students will experience how GIS and GPS are revolutionizing farming practices. 4-H clubs are an ideal setting for the robotics platform, and targeting the instruction to national science, technology and math standards reinforces what students are learning in school and contributes to their school success.