School to receive 4-H grant for robotics

Darlington School’s robotics program has been selected to receive a $1,000 grant from Floyd County 4-H.

“Floyd County 4-H is excited to be collaborating with a program that already contributes so much to the robotics community and is passionate about serving others," said Elizabeth (Ansley) Brewster (’98), 4-H Agent in the University of Georgia Floyd County Cooperative Extension Office. 

According to its website, 4-H developed a comprehensive robotics program in 2009 to inspire young people and develop an early interest in engineering and technology. This program is part of 4-H’s bold goal to engage one million new young people in science by the year 2013 and to address a declining trend in our nation’s science, engineer, mathematics, and technology workforce.

Darlington’s robotics program has been existence for approximately five years. This year, the school hosted two regional qualifying tournaments, the FIRST Lego League for Middle School students and the FIRST Tech Challenge for Upper School students. The Middle School team placed first in programming and fourth in robots while the Upper School teams advanced to the quarterfinals.

“Community involvement is a major part of the FIRST Robotics program,” said Owen Kinney, who is the robotics instructor at the Upper School. “Teams are encouraged to promote robotics and to use their technical expertise to serve their communities. Each of our team members is required to log at least 10 hours of community service; however, they do a lot more than that.”

With an expansive network reaching every corner of the country, 4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization. More than 6 million 4-H youth in urban neighborhoods, suburban schoolyards and rural farming communities stand out among their peers: building revolutionary opportunities and implementing community-wide change at an early age.