Nearly 8 500 schoolchildren had the chance to program Aalto Junior's friendly robots
The main goal of the robotics workshops was to encourage all kinds of children and young people to take up robotics and programming in inspiring ways. The friendly Lego robots are excellent motivators. The Lego world, which many were already familiar with, and the visual block programming significantly lowered the threshold for approaching the world of technology. Based on the feedback from the pupils who participated in the lessons, the objective was successfully achieved and their thirst for knowledge grew.
Comment from a pupil who participated in a robotics workshopI learned how to give instructions to a robot. I want more lessons like this.
Easy approach to technology education
Giving robots human names instead of numbers also helped ease the pupils’ wariness toward technology. The robots were named after prominent Finnish figures in the fields of automation and technology, including members of the Aalto University faculty. Saija Huoponen, who coordinated Aalto Junior's robotics workshops, believes that the names sparked curiosity about programming, robotics, and technology. ‘At the end of the sessions, the students often said goodbye to their robots by name and asked the instructors to take good care of them. I believe that these small things also make robotics more accessible to children and young people,’ says Huoponen.
One of Aalto Junior's robots bears the name of Pauliina Ilmonen, professor at the Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis at Aalto University. The professor, who admits to being a Lego fan, says she is impressed with her namesake robot. She considers projects such as robotics workshops to be important and praises their approach: ‘Visualisation and naming broadens the number of interested youth to include those who do not consider themselves technically gifted.’
Pauliina Ilmonen believes it is important that everyone has access to technology, not just those who are already interested in the subject. In her opinion, it is good for children to be introduced to and inspired by a wide range of fields at as young an age as possible. ‘The most important thing is that career choices are not guided by rigid thinking, but that young people can build the life they want for themselves,’ Ilmonen explains.
The late professor of Automation Technology Aarne Halme and professor Ville Kyrki from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation also have namesake robots at Aalto University. Among Junior's 15 robots are also robots named after the Weisell Foundation's forefathers Kalle, Vilho and Yrjö Väisälä.
The robotics sessions made possible by the Weisell Foundation inspired children and young people also at events and camps. During the autumn and winter school breaks, robots were programmed at Oodi, and in the spring at Stoa during the Hurray! week.
Two popular robotics camps were held in Otaniemi during the summer, as well as three activity days at Oodi. At the summer camps, children designed, built and programmed, among other things, a secret safe, a drawing robot, a weather forecaster and many kinds of imaginative moving robots.
During the school year, a week-long robotics workshop tour was carried out outside the Uusimaa region. The aim was to also serve municipalities and schools that had not previously participated in Aalto University Junior's activities.
Comment from a child who participated in a robotics workshopI had no idea I could do that!
Aalto University Junior
Aalto University Junior is art, science, technology and entrepreneurship for children, young people and teachers - to support teaching, personal joy and a source of enthusiasm.
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