Robotics Studio — Kasha Speno

In The Coding & Robotics studio, campers built and coded robots to navigate obstacle courses and weekly challenges.

Check out the Coding Studio project to learn more about designing and coding apps.

Scope:

45 Camps around the U.S. serving about 30,000 kids

My Role:

Program design
Environment design
Purchasing
Content Creation
Staff training materials

Outcomes:

Self-directed robot construction
Reduction in Summer support requests
Increased engagement over Summer

Robot obstacle course challenge

*Campers build and code robots; create decoders*

Robo Master Badge

After establishing the Robotics program, I wanted to make it easier for kids to easily build simple bots without the help of an adult. That meant making sure they could find the necessary parts and access studio resources if they needed help getting started.

I filmed and photographed printed how-to guides and a series of video tutorials featured on The Pool (our camper and staff project platform.) They all started with Campers checking out kits to earn their Robo Master Badges. Then, they could also help other Campers getting started.

Robo Master Intro Video

I created printed bags to store essential parts and an iPad for checkout with a camper badge. After prototyping storage solutions during our Spring Break Camps, I worked with our cardboard supplier to produce a storage station for additional parts in order to keep them available and organized over the course of the summer.

Through these efforts, we saw more kids building and driving more bots and receiving Robo Master credentials. Anecdotally, we saw more kids helping others get started and more lasting engagement with more advanced bots from Campers who attended more than one week. We also saw higher Staff engagement and a demonstrable reduction in support requests and replacement parts requests during the summer months.

Cardboard bot storage created for Camp — *I worked with our cardboard partners to design this storage system after prototyping and testing a variation with pegboard during our Spring Break Camps.*

Botstacles

Through user testing at Spring Break Camps with our latest bots, I knew the next challenge was to help inspire Campers to keep building on their basic knowledge. I prototyped obstacles in my early Studio trials and they encouraged different kinds of play and challenges. Working from my prototypes, I partnered with our cardboard producers to create maze pieces, cardboard ramps, and cutout inserts for inflatable pools used as bot battle rings. Though a Program Arc that brought themed weekly printed and video challenges, I was able to bring new inspiration to Campers and Staff throughout the Summer.