Harlem Robotics League
CTICE established the Harlem Robotics League in the fall of 2007 to give local public school students a chance to experience engineering first hand. In the League, teams from several Harlem middle schools compete to design robots using Lego® robotics kits. CTICE, with the Morningside Area Alliance, sponsored two inaugural events in the fall of 2007, with two additional challenges scheduled for the spring of 2008.
The League is designed to help students learn to think like engineers – applying logic, working in teams, solving problems, developing processes, and finding real-world applications of scientific principles. Christian Aucoin, a CTICE Community Fellow, organized the inaugural competitions, coordinating each school’s participation and designing the various challenges that teams had to master.
In addition, the middle school students worked with a CTICE undergraduate interns, who served as mentors, helping them prepare for the challenge. In total, CTICE is supporting 12 undergraduate student interns to work as mentors with the League during 2007-2008.
CTICE plans to expand the Harlem Robotics League challenges, involving more schools and students, and using more sophisticated robotics kits and programming. The ultimate goal is to create a robust program that encompasses every middle school in Harlem, with a Columbia undergraduate mentor working with every team.
For a video of the first robotics challenge, visit http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/newyorkstories/robotics.html.