F.M. Kirby Children’s Center Students Build and Program Robots

Expanding on STEM programming at the F.M. Kirby Children’s Center of the Madison Area YMCA, “Cubelets” arrived to engage and inspire students. Thanks to a grant from BASF, school-age students are delving into programming and building robots. One 8-year-old student remarked, “Mom, we built robots today. It was so cool!” Pictured here is Julia Degarcia, 8, of Madison.

For more information, please contact F.M. Kirby Children’s Center Director of Child Care Services Ashley Diehl at 973-377-4945 x3226.

The F.M. Kirby Children’s Center of the Madison Area YMCA is one of the largest early childhood development centers and provides exceptional quality in child care and curriculum-based early childhood education for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, Young 5 students and kindergartners. As a former elementary school, the Kirby Center facility is specifically designed for children. Located on almost 3-acres of property, the Center has a full-size gym, full kitchen that serves snacks and meals, a pediatric registered nurse on staff and five state-of-the-art playgrounds to serve all age groups.

The F.M. Children’s Kirby Center is a member of the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance, a participating partner in the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey initiative to implement school-based food, nutrition and physical education programs and is also a flagship center for the Healthy U program which teaches preschool children the importance of physical activity and healthful nutrition. Financial assistance may be available for eligible families.

As a cause-driven charitable organization, the Madison Area YMCA is dedicated to nurturing the potential of every child and teen, and improving the community’s health and well-being and giving back by providing support to our neighbors.