Update 11/6: We have our winners! Visit our help center to see the full list and learn how you can replicate one of the winning projects to take part in a new match offer from 3M.We originally announced the winners in a Facebook Live broadcast, featuring FIRST Robotics team 694 (StuyPulse). Check it out!
Kids love robots. Movie studios know this, which is why R2-D2, the Iron Giant, and WALL-E have all become classic beloved characters. And teachers know this, which is why we’ve seen so many creative robotics projects posted on DonorsChoose.org recently—over 5,000 in the past two years alone! That’s why we’re so excited for the new Robotics Innovation Challenge we’re launching this week, thanks to generous support from 3M. Starting today, K-12 public school teachers across the country can submit their best ideas for using robots to teach problem solving skills. If your idea meets these criteria, every donation to your classroom project will be matched by 3M, while funds last.After the challenge wraps up on September 15th, we’ll convene a panel of expert judges to take a look at all of the submitted projects and figure out which ones are the most innovative. We’ll announce the winners in October, and those 10 teachers each will receive a $10,000 DonorsChoose.org gift card to bring even more problem-solving tools to their classroom.
Teaching with Robots at All Grade Levels
Classroom robots aren’t just for older students. Teachers at all grade levels have come up with creative ways to use robotics in their classrooms to show their students what a future in STEM might look like.
- Ms. Flores taught the students in her elementary STEM club to problem solve with their robotics kits, setting her “future scientists “up for success.
- Mr. Vargo’s high schoolers meet daily for their FIRST robotics team. He’s building a future where “young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”
- Ms. Briggs wants her kids to see themselves as people who are “confident and capable when it comes to science and technology,” so she set them up to build and code their own robot, getting them incredibly excited to learn in the process.
Need more inspiration? Here are even more great robotics projects from DonorsChoose.org teachers.
