NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A Pasco County high school student is sharing her passion for robotics with younger students, hoping to inspire the next generation of engineers through a free community program.
Ana Thomas, a rising senior at Wendell Krinn Technical High School, created Regency Robotics as her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The program introduces elementary and middle school students to robotics, coding and engineering through hands-on activities at the Regency Park Branch Library.
Participants spend the sessions programming robots to complete obstacle courses, follow colors, pick up toy dinosaurs and navigate barriers.
"I’m kind of liking how they do obstacle courses," Nathan Politopoulos
said. "How they program robots."
Thomas said her interest in engineering started at a young age.
"I’ve always really liked problem solving," she said. "I grew up with Legos as many people in my class have as well."
That passion eventually led her to robotics, and now she wants to help younger students discover the same excitement.
"I hope they want to more robotics related things in the future and hopefully get inspired from this," Thomas said.
The program also demonstrates that robotics can be accessible outside the classroom. While many schools now offer robotics courses, families can also purchase beginner robotics kits for about $65 to continue learning at home.
"Everything we use today was designed by somebody," LED Robotics club member Brody Turner said. "So, it’s important that we have more of those people ready to make more things for us."
According to the National Science Foundation, about one in four U.S. workers is employed in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics field, and STEM occupations have grown nearly three times faster than non-STEM jobs over the past decade.
Thomas hopes to one day work in aerospace engineering after watching NASA's Artemis II mission preparations.
"I saw the Artemis II go up and I’d love to be a part of those projects in the future," she said.
She plans to bring Regency Robotics back to the Regency Park Branch Library on July 23 and hopes to eventually expand the free program to additional locations throughout Pasco County.
For more information go to https://www.christianathomasportfolio.com/home/regency-robotics
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For more than 15 years, Erik Waxler has called Pasco County home. He’s dedicated to helping his neighbors from New Port Richey to Dade City solve problems and celebrating those who help others. Share your ideas and tips with Erik below.
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