mHUB STEM Initiatives: Ogden International School Robotics Team
When Linda was seven years old, her parents signed her up for the FIRST LEGO League Robotics team. They figured it would be a good way for her to make new friends and work with her hands, something she loved doing at home. Linda is now a high school senior applying to colleges with plans to major in Biomedical Engineering and attend medical school. Last year she was the only girl on the Ogden International School high school First Robotics Team. She was also the team captain. “Robotics helped me figure out who I am,” Linda says..
Linda is just one in 14 Ogden higher schoolers in STEM on the Ogden International School Robotics Team. The students gather Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout mHUB’s space for their practices; there are 20 on the Elementary and Middle School Team, who meet Mondays and Wednesdays.
mHUB aims to inspire and cultivate future entrepreneurs and engineers, with programs such as June’s Hebocon and August’s STEM Stars Event. When mHUB was presented with an opportunity to serve as a home and resource center for Ogden International School’s Robotics Team, the mHUB team immediately jumped aboard.
Even a month in, the program clearly benefits both parties.
“Having the students at mHUB, in our professional product development environment, gives them direct experience of what ‘the grown-up engineers' do and demonstrates that it can be a true and exciting career path. Our members benefit from the students’ creativity, tenacity, and curiosity. It gives them the opportunity to teach and mentor,” explains Bill Fienup, mHUB Co-Founder and Managing Director.
Ogden International School Robotics Team Parent Leader Clifton Muhammad notes that “the mHUB co-working environment now gives our students, coaches, volunteers and parents a whole new set of tools and resources for each of us to learn to apply for our futures. We're all working really hard now to make this space an integral part of the team's experience.”
Student Oscar, age 15, adds that “it’s really cool to be here, to be exposed to other people with similar passions.”
“We get to test other people’s inventions and we learn how to code and make our own inventions too!” exclaims Sebastian, age 11.
The Ogden First Robotics Team aims to develop the next generation of strategic thinkers for transforming lives through science, technology, engineering, and math. The team competes in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) leagues to inspire some students to become science and technology leaders, by engaging them in an exciting mentor-based program that builds science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
Competitions provide a spectator-friendly environment with the feel of a major-sporting event. Students work alongside mentors to apply real-world math and science concepts to solve an annual challenge. This year’s challenge is called First Relic Recovery, which involves a robot retrieving and stacking items.
To learn more about how you can be a part of the mHUB-Ogden International School partnership, reach out to bill@mhubchicago.com. For information on Ogden Competitions and all mHUB events, follow @mHUBChicago on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Sign up for mHUB’s newsletter below.
