Imagination, Innovation and Creating Robots from Scratch

The imagination of a child is said to be limitless. Great thinkers, from Albert Einstein to Dr. Seuss, sang praises of the power of imagination and its effect on learning and success. This summer, ASSET STEM Education™ put students’ imaginations to the test during its inaugural Engineer Your Summer Fun summer camp—and saw glowing results. One program in particular, Arts & Bots, developed by ASSET STEM Education in association with Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Lab (CREATE Lab) at Carnegie Mellon University, prompted summer campers to combine craft materials, robotic components, programming tools and a healthy dose of imagination to build and animate robotic creations. Campers used recycled materials and CREATE Lab’s Visual Programmer software to build and program their own robot. This course, typically provided as professional development to educators, is a true multidisciplinary course, combining art and technology to fashion moving, talking, one-of-a-kind creations.

ASSET camp educators provided materials like cereal boxes, construction paper and cardboard boxes and hands-on, concrete opportunities for campers to learn about coding and programming before designing and creating their robot. Special attention was given to the components of the Hummingbird Duo™ kit, the hardware used in conjunction with Visual Programmer software, and how these components attached to the controller and worked alongside one another. Campers then used what they learned—along with their own imagination and innovation—to produce their robotic creations.






At the close of summer camp, students shared their robots—and the successes and failures that inched them closer to a final product. Creating a working robot is a small victory; learning that it’s okay to fail on the road to success is a lifelong lesson.

To browse other hands-on, minds-on out-of-school learning opportunities for your students, like Arts & Bots, visit ASSET’s site.

Train the Trainer: The Science of Light

Along with our colleagues at ASSET STEM Education, we recently hosted a two-day train-the-trainer workshop for members of our Satellite Network around the principles of photography and its use in the classroom, particularly through the lens of social impact.

Participants kicked off the workshop building a pinhole camera, and concluded it putting together a digital camera. (see full workshop schedule below)


The goals of the workshop:

  • Deepen understanding of photography fundamentals, to anchor and enhance the GigaPan outreach and support provided by CREATE Lab Satellites.
  • Hands-on consideration of the Bigshot camera kit as a Satellite Network wide offering within a context of community empowerment. 


Below are testimonials from workshop participants. The accompanying photographs were taken with Bigshot cameras, which participants assembled and experimented with during the second day of the workshop.

"The workshop has been a lot of fun. It was really helpful to begin with photographic history and move through different techniques, tools and concepts. I learned a lot about how modern cameras work through examining older methods of photography. This is definitely something I can share with my colleagues and students."

Kris Hupp
Cornell School District
21st Century Teaching & Learning Coach

"Thank you for the last two days.  I have truly enjoyed learning more about the technical side of photography."

Deb Spencer
Manager of Professional Development
ASSET STEM Education

"Going through that training, it's much easier for me to see how to help others with little to no experience with photography, as I had. I have a better understanding of exposure and focus and what it means and how its used after the big shot session and its easily expanded into gigapan. It was a great session!"

Carrie-Meghan Quick-Blanco
Language/International Studies Specialist
Marshall University

"This picture was taken during our training on the BigShot camera. The session provided an interactive experience that encouraged individual creativity and voice!"

Renee Graham
Research and Development Manager
ASSET STEM Education

"The most engaging part of the workshop for me was when we had to think about harnessing photography as a tool towards making folks aware/educating about a specific social justice issue, and then actually capturing a few images with the BigShot camera towards that end. This took on the flavor of a "project" and strengthened my belief in the power of photography, especially in the hands of students."

Jim Rye
Professor, Curriculum and Instruction/Literacy Studies
West Virginia University

"This workshop was a wonderful resource for new techniques and methods for using photography in a classroom."

Rachel Shipley
Artist Educator Fellow
West Liberty University 

"The impact that art can have on society is not something I have ever thought about, and I now realize its power. The potential these materials have for out of school time is something I want to explore.  I am looking forward to working with and using the resources provided. Thank you for this experience."

Lisa Callender
Professional Development Manager
ASSET STEM Education 

"I loved the opportunity to build a kit-based digital camera and I’m sure the Bigshot will be a great resource for kids to learn more about photography. I also appreciated the examples of photography and image-making for social impact projects. All in all, a very valuable workshop. Thank you!"

Mac Howison
Senior Program Officer for Catalytic Funding
The Sprout Fund


Workshop Schedule