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Allen Students Donate $1000 Robotics Competition Prize To Local Charity

Students at Primrose School of West Allen won third place in the Ready, Set, Robotics! challenge
Primrose School of West Allen 3[34]
All photos courtesy of Primrose Schools.

After competing against 85 other Primrose schools in the Ready, Set, Robotics! Challenge, elementary-aged students at the Primrose School of West Allen won third place and donates their $1000 prize to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

The STEM learning challenge was part of the two-week summer curriculum of the schools’ Summer Adventure Club, a summer camp where, depending on location, kids can learn about coding, history, art and everything in between.

For the challenge, each school had to code a programmable classroom robot named Dash to help it navigate mazes and special missions. Teams were then invited to put their newly acquired robotics skills to the test with a friendly competition against other Primrose schools where they designed and engineered original solutions and created a video to document their project.

The whole program was built on the Balanced Learning approach Primrose schools are based on, a method of teaching that promotes a love of learning. “When play is connected to problem-solving, children begin to work more collaboratively with their friends and develop a deeper understanding of concepts,” says Dr. Sandra Linder, co-author of the Primrose Balanced Learning curriculum.

Each of the three teams to get to the podium was given funds to donate to a charity of their choice. In the first place group, several children had adopted pets, so they donated to Progress Animal Welfare Society, the second place team donated to Safe Animal Shelter, and our local Allen students chose the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, as some of the school’s teachers and families are currently dealing with cancer. 

“We believe who children become is as important as what they know. Encouraging the winning teams to donate their earnings to local charities exemplifies the principles in our Balanced Learning approach for children to learn about the importance of giving without expectation,” said Jo Kirchner, CEO of Primrose Schools. “We are so proud of all the winners and participants for their creativity during this year’s robotics challenge!”