Students learn to build, program robots at UT Martin Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — Students visited the University of Tennessee at Martin Jackson Center Monday to build robots.

“We’re gonna build some Lego robots,” Fisher Beam, a student, said.

All this week, young builders will come to the UT Martin Jackson Center to assemble their own creations.

“It might be an awesome robot that can move or just a robot that can move its hands and legs,” Bryant Duffey, a student, said.

Monday’s robot was a drumming monkey. The parts come in kits, and the kids use a computer that shows them how to put the Legos together step by step.

Their teacher says this is just preparing them for what they’ll see when they start looking for a career.

“Jobs in the future seriously are going to be in robotics, and things are less labor intensive,” James Swanger, the robotics instructor, said.

The parents were excited to see their kids having fun while learning about robots and programming.

“Last year after we did this, I saw him just get extra confident in putting Legos together by himself and trying things he hadn’t tried before, so I do think it’s great for critical thinking,” Paige McCormick, a parent, said.

“In the class, they use mathematics frequently to solve problems with the gears and the other intricate parts,” Kayce Beam, a parent, said. “So he’s really picked up on things this summer that maybe he needed a refresher course on before he starts back to kindergarten.”

And once they were done building, they had a monkey that could keep a steady beat.

If you weren’t able to register for this class in time, they will have another on Nov. 11.