Lego Camp News Release

Lego Robotics Camp is one tool being used in Jefferson County to encourage students to pursue careers in advanced manufacturing and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).   Improving the perception of manufacturing careers among our young people is critical, especially considering the following. 

Almost 80% of Americans believe manufacturing is important to our economic prosperity, standard of living and national security.  Yet only 30% would encourage their children to go into manufacturing as a career, per studies done by the Manufacturing Institute. 

Thirty Jefferson County students, age 9 to 14, will use the LEGO NXT Robotics system to design, build and program their robots from scratch.  Participants will begin by following instructions to build a robot using LEGO bricks.  Included in the building materials is a programmable logic controller, much like the PLCs used in manufacturing plants to control materials and processes.  Sensors provide input information to the PLCs which then execute a specific program based on the input. The LEGO robots built by the campers behave exactly the same way. 

Camp runs for three days, July 16 – 18, at Southwestern Elementary School.  Students will demonstrate their robots and share what they’ve learned on the last day of camp, presenting to both parents and engineers from local companies. 

Camp is sponsored by Madison Chamber and Economic Development and is one of many strategies implemented in Jefferson County in collaboration with the EcO15 Region to create a long term pipeline of highly skilled, qualified workers in STEM.  Introducing fun, hands-on technology at a young age can spark an interest in students who may choose to pursue an educational pathway within the fields of engineering or technology. 

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Madison Chamber and Economic Development is part of the EcO15 initiative in Southeast Indiana.