QUEEN CREEK, AZ — Junior high schools in Queen Creek Unified School District received a boost from a new business partner to help with the schools' robotics programs.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, donated $55,000 for the programs to buy 15 new claw robot kits that students learn to build, code, and troubleshoot.
Newell Barney Junior High School robotics teacher Erika Donovan said it helps enrich her students' learning experience and makes it more collaborative and engaging.
"We had done building, we had done coding, but they weren't able to link their ideas together," Donovan said. "This gave them the ability to build, and then code, and then transfer it, and then test and see if it worked, then they would go back and troubleshoot, fix things, and come back and test it again."
Queen Creek Junior High robotics teacher Michael Larson said the partnership with Meta will help develop more future tech leaders.
"This will help grow our programs and bring new students into the realm of technology and engineering," Larson said. "Thank you, Meta, for investing in the education of the Queen Creek community!"
Donovan said the kits mean she can have 30 students in a robotics class at a time.
"That's a lot for a robotics class," she said. "I'd just like to see more kids exposed to this and expose them to more careers in the computer sciences field and engineering field."
