Science Competition Tests Minds Of Brevard Students

By  //  October 8, 2012

Experiment Introduces Kids to Robotics

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Creative young minds on the Space Coast will be put to the test during the next week as the Brevard County Agriculture and Extension Service and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will host 4-H Youth Engineer Environmental Robotic Solutions on 4-H National Youth Science Day.

Students will participate in the 4-H Eco-Bot Challenge: the 2012 National Science Experiment.at two locations this coming week in Brevard County. (Shutterstock image)

Millions of young people across the nation will become scientists for the day during the fifth annual 4-H National Youth Science Day on Wednesday. This event seeks to spark an early youth interest in science and future science careers, and to reclaim the nation’s position of leadership in scientific exploration.

Students will participate in the 4-H Eco-Bot Challenge: the 2012 National Science Experiment.

Two sites in Brevard County will be hosting this experiment — Patrick Air Force Base on Wednesday and Walter Butler Community Center in Cocoa on Oct. 15 and 16.

Designed by The Ohio State University Extension, this year’s experiment will introduce students to robotic engineering concepts as they program a robot to clean up a simulated environmental spill. 4-H’ers will assemble their own Eco-Bots and surface controls to manage an environmental clean-up.

Students will then test the interaction between the Eco-Bot’s design features and various surface control configurations to determine the most effective clean-up solution for the simulated spill.

For more than 100 years, 4-H has been at the forefront of teaching youth about science, engineering and technology. Created to combat a shortage of American young people pursuing science college majors and careers, 4-H National Youth Science Day seeks to spark an early youth interest and leadership in science.

This year’s 4-H National Youth Science Day is jointly sponsored Lockheed Martin, Toyota, Donaldson Filtration Solutions, Motorola, Walmart and John Deere.

For more information, call Vanessa Spero-Swingle at 321-633-1702, ext. 231.