Notre Dame robotics camp brings attendees from as far away as the U.K.
The Notre Dame ”Robotics and Engineering Camp,” which opened this week on the campus of NDPMA, is a two-week camp for boys and girls 10 to 14 years old.
According to camp advisor Louise Palardy, the camp is not a typical robotics summer camp as it involves not only robot builds, but includes tours of two large automotive suppliers an automotive OEM technical center and two university engineering departments.
"For the past two years, I have been the co-host of the VEX IQ Michigan State Championship for 3rd through 8th grades," said Palardy, who is a Notre Dame parent and one of the mentors in the school's robotics group. "We were then able to get a grant from General Motors and volunteer judges from GM for the events and have formed a relationship with GM's corporate giving function as well as their STEM initiative division."
Even though it’s just the second day of the camp, some of the robot designs have been completed and are being tested out.
"This two-week engineering and robotics camp includes the university tours and manufacturing visits because we think students should see possible paths they could take if they pursue a STEM degree and what those careers might involve," she said.
Palardy also said the camp flyer was sent to all of GM's employees, so, in addition to a large group from Notre Dame's middle school, there are a number of middle-school students attending from other schools, including a couple of campers from the U.K.
During the first week of the camp, attendees will be visiting Mahindra North America for a tour of their new Auburn Hills facility and Faurecia North American headquarters, also in Auburn Hills. On Thursday, the campers visit Oakland University to tour its School of Engineering and computer science labs.
Next week in addition to finishing up their robot designs and devising competitive strategies, campers will be treated to a tour of Kettering University's engineering and computer science labs as well as a tour of the General Motors Tech Center in Warren.
"On Friday of the second week, we will spend the morning working on programming robots and more game strategy," said Palardy. "We will have hot dogs, chips and watermelon for lunch and then finish off the camp with a simulated VEX competition in the afternoon."
At the end of the two-week camp, the new robots will compete in a simulated VEX IQ competition.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org