High
school students on the tiny Micronesian island of Kosrae will be building,
programming and competing their own advanced robots for the first time. Located
at the remote eastern end of the Federated States of Micronesia, this island of
less than seven thousand inhabitants is renowned for its pristine waters and
lush mountain landscape.
In
partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular
Affairs, Habele is providing equipment, training and support for the formation
of Kosrae’s first-ever “Kosrae Robo League.” The Habele Robotics League has
collaborated with public and private schools across the FSM since 2012,
beginning in Yap, and expanding to Chuuk and Pohnpei States in 2018. Now, high
school students on Kosrae will join their peers across the FSM in mastering
science and technology concepts in an innovative, hands-on way.
In
remote communities with limited resources, opportunities for students to
meaningfully engage with applied science, technology, engineering and math are extremely
narrow, or nonexistent. By partnering with island educators and community
leaders, Habele helps expand local capacity for developing students with a rich
grounding in the technologies driving much of the modern economy.
“Experimenting
with ideas in a tangible way is a great complement to classroom instruction,” says
Christopher Johnson, a South Carolina teacher and Habele volunteer. “This
program engages students who might not think of themselves as ‘math and science’
types, and gets them on a path they never would have imagined.”
Across
Micronesia, every participating robotics club has freedom to develop and define
their own structure and schedule. Students are encouraged to experiment and
explore with the equipment, making the robots an expression of their club’s
personality and skills. This culminates in “Robo Day” exhibitions, where clubs
from schools in each state gather to compete in problem-solving matches, and
demonstrate newfound skills in front of the whole community.
“We see
students light up with excitement while they’re creating and problem solving
with complex equipment and concepts,” says Matthew Coleman, Habele’s Executive
Director. “Micronesia’s future engineers and technology experts are being
developed right here.”
In
addition to the Robotics League, Habele provides tuition scholarships for
students across the FSM, and provisions public school libraries.
Share
