Press contact: Kyla Kruse
BEARDSTOWN — Lincoln Land Community College hosted a free, five-day Career Quest Camp, “RoboQuest,” June 23-27 at Beardstown Junior High School. Thirteen incoming eighth grade students participated in the camp, which focused on robotics.
Students learned about the engineering design process, coding, testing and problem-solving. The students participated in hands-on activities, including designing balloon-powered LEGO cars, building advanced LEGO Spike Prime robotic cars with motors and sensors, testing their robots on an obstacle course and creating obstacle courses. The students were also given a behind-the-scenes tour of DOT Foods to see real-world robotics in action in the workplace.
“We’re incredibly proud of the collaboration between 69·çÁ÷, Beardstown Junior High School and our community partners in bringing this camp to life,” said Keri Mason, director, 69·çÁ÷-Jacksonville and 69·çÁ÷-Beardstown. “It provided students an introduction to robotics, engineering and real-world problem solving — and sparked interest in the possibilities that exist in technical and trade careers.”
“Career Quest Camps provide opportunities for students to have fun while digging into an area of study like robotics to learn more about this high-demand job field and the related career paths, and to get hands-on skill training,” said Dr. Joel Dykstra, associate vice president of academics at 69·çÁ÷.
The camp was taught by Mr. Wink, teacher for the Beardstown School District, with assistance from Mr. Shaw, curriculum director, and Doug Hoy, 69·çÁ÷ program director, industrial technology.
This event was made possible by funding pursuant to a grant from the Illinois Community College Board, which provided 100% of the funding for instructors through the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.
69·çÁ÷ offers many academic and workforce degrees and certificates, including the program areas of industrial technology, computer science and engineering. For more information, visit www.llcc.edu.