Ferguson Youth Enjoy Robotics Demonstration by Westminster Christian Academy Team

Westminster’s FIRST Robotics team recently visited Boeing headquarters in St. Louis to speak about their experiences from FIRST competitions and demo their team robots for a group of campers from Ferguson’s Strength and Honor Summer Camp.

The summer camp is a key component of the Strength and Honor Mentoring and Tutoring program, a non-profit organization designed to instigate change in struggling communities. The program aims to equip underprivileged youth for a successful life through mentoring and tutoring services and the instilling of positive values and critical thinking skills.

Thirty young boys participating in this summer’s camp attended the robotics demo on Monday, July 20. The campers had the opportunity to ask questions, see the Cyborg Cats’ robots up close, handle parts, and catch exercise balls that the team’s 2014 robot launched at them.

“We are proud to engage in experiences like the Westminster Christian Academy / Ferguson Strength and Honor Camp event,” said Carol Nelson, Director of Education Relations at Boeing. “Boeing is committed to helping students develop the skills needed to succeed in learning and in life and to achieve real-world skills. We know these students represent our future, and we want to complement their learning experience with some real-life mentoring engagements.”

The members from Westminster’s team took turns demonstrating different capabilities of the robot, operating and maneuvering the bot to showcase its speed and agility, and narrating videos from past competitions that allowed the campers to see the robot in action.

Each Cyborg Cat explained their specific role on the school’s robotics team and shared their reason for being a part of the program. Senior Sydney Thomas said the outreach aspect of Westminster’s robotics program is one of the main reasons she loves being a part of the group.

“I had a great time at Boeing with the campers,” said Thomas. “I think it’s incredible that the Cyborg Cats have the chance to reach out to the community. Sharing something that I love like engineering is always an amazing experience! The campers were all so excited about what we were doing, and being able to see that kind of passion and curiosity was so rewarding.”