One area of study that has gained a lot of attention lately is that of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, better known as STEM.
Many jobs require at least some knowledge of this area of study, and a Manitowoc County group is helping young people learn the fun side of STEM.
Lakeshore First Robotics is operated out of a warehouse in Manitowoc, which used to be owned by Jagemann Stamping, located next to the Kwik Trip on Meadow Lane.
Travis Klein explained that Jageman not only donated the space to the group, but they, along with the Lakeshore Community Foundation, also paid for some rather expensive equipment.
“We have numerous other sponsors throughout the county too. They have been very generous,” he said. “We have really top-notch equipment here.”
As far as the building itself, Travis said they work with children in grades 1 through high school.
Travis’ son Ian told us that there are four main groups within the nationwide First Robotics organization.
“We start off in elementary school with younger kids, and it’s just playing with Legos and working on a general project,” Ian explained. “From there, we work with the EV3 robots. That’s where they are starting to build robots and they program them to move autonomously. From there, when we get into late middle school into high school, we have Tech Challenge, which is where they make an 18×18 inch robot, and that they actually drive with joysticks and compete. And then at the highest level…First Robotics Competition, is all about making the big 150-pound robots.”
Travis said that the organization was founded on the idea that some students simply aren’t into the traditional sports, but still wanted to compete.
“This was kind of the outcome of that. Every kid can be a professional at what they do,” he said. “They can go on and be an engineer, an electrician, [work] in CAD, where athletes its very few and far between that get to say ‘Hey, I’m going to go be a professional football player.’”
First Lakeshore Robotics has teams out of Manitowoc Lutheran, Manitowoc Lincoln, Two Rivers, Kiel, Valders, and De Pere High Schools.
They are also preparing to host an event in their facility on June 26th.
The public is invited to come into their facility and see what the group is all about. They emphasized that you do not need to have any previous knowledge to join the group, just a passion for learning.
For more information, visit lakeshorefirstrobotics.org.
