You’re never too young to be a teacher.
That’s true for a group of students at Deerfield High School who are passing down robotics knowledge to elementary pupils at tech sessions like one that was recently held at Deerfield Public Library.
The Aug. 16 library program drew about 20 children from age 10 up to high school seniors. Deerfield High School Robotics Club members Carson Sklare, Owen Billings, Kyla Guru, Annika Sornson, Brandon Kluge, Justin Medich and others gave grade schoolers an overview of robotic applications in areas like medicine, agriculture, search and rescue, education and the military.
At the library, club members went into the specifics of designing, building, programming and the coordination challenges of operating a robot. They used models of varying sophistication the club had assembled.
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Four years earlier, Deerfield High School students commuted to Highland Park High School after class to meet with members of that robotics club. The school later formed its own club.
Owen Billings, a senior and four-year club member, said the middle and elementary school students at the library event showed a great deal of interest in the topic.
“They seemed to come in with decent knowledge, so I think they’re doing a pretty good job at the middle and elementary schools with STEM programs, helping them come up with ideas and teaching them problem solving skills,” he said.
Teaching younger students challenged Billings and other upperclassmen at Deerfield.
“For me, the hardest part was explaining programming because there’s some terminology they don’t know that we use all the time,” Billings said. “We had to break it down to a level which they can understand.”
A four-year involvement in robotics or other STEM activities is crucial so incoming freshmen can learn and a year later teach the next group, he said.
Deerfield and Highland Park high robotics clubs remain close and supportive in furthering their knowledge, said Billings.
“If we need help we can contact the Highland Park team and they contact us, too,” he said.
Meg Anthony, head of youth services at Deerfield Library, said there is excitement from younger kids interested in robotics.
“I think there is a lot of interest in STEM-based programming and robotics fits right in with that,” Anthony said. “We’re trying to do all kinds of things at the library to get kids excited in (STEM topics).”
