Danbury School Receives Scholarship for Lego Robotics Project

Press release:

DANBURY, CONN. — The Westside Middle School Academy has been awarded $2,000 to fund its Lego® robotics “Mars Landing Rover” project.

Voya Financial™, formerly known as ING, awarded the money as part of its “Unsung Heroes” program. The financial institution has awarded nearly $4 million over the past 15 years, inspiring success in the classroom and in students. Voya presented the check to the WSMSA at its Sept. 30 staff meeting. Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund innovative class projects. Three of those recipients are chosen to receive top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000.

WSMSA Principal Dr. Frank LaBanca applied for the scholarship with the Mars Rover Landing Module project in mind. The project increases student knowledge about Mars through structured inquiry activities and digital media production, and helps develop engineering practices skills through the design process involved in creating a functional model of a rover.

“Research indicates that there are greater gains in student achievement and engagement when they participate in project-based learning. The project also engages students in higher-order thinking” said LaBanca. “We expect to see gains in science and math achievement.”

The STEM-interdisciplinary project involves 100 sixth-grade students in the WSMSA’s STEM academy. Students learn about the geological and chemical factors associated with Mars to develop an understanding about the project. Students will be responsible for both construction and programming of their devices using Lego Mindstorm kits. The project is a collection of interdisciplinary inquiry-based activities.

At the end of the project, students will present what they’ve learned in a digital media project. Their designs will be tested and their successes documented with notes for areas of improvement.

Teachers and students will collaborate with local engineering experts who will work with the school on a regular basis. Students will showcase their work and learning at the school’s annual Innovation Expo that is attended by parents and the community.

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