If at first you do succeed, expand the second time. That’s what is happening with the robotics camp collaboration between Virginia Peninsula Community College and the NASA Knights, a community-based high school robotics team founded by NASA Langley in 1997.
Last summer, the College and the Knights held a one-week camp for rising fourth- through seventh-graders at the Peninsula Workforce Development on VPCC’s Hampton Campus.
“It went really well, so we were excited to partner again this year,” said Amy Walker, NASA Knights outreach mentor.
There will be two weeks of camps this summer, July 27-31 (grades 3-5) and Aug. 3-7 (grades 6-8).
“I realized from doing it and going through the curriculum (last year) that it would be better for the (old students) to have another program,” Walker said.
The title of the 2025 camp was “Mission to Mars.” It will be the same for the first week of camp this year, but “Future of FIRST Lego League” for the second week. The camps are part of a national program, so Walker won’t have to redevelop it completely for the older campers.
“We have a Lego-based program for the middle schoolers,” she said. “It’s a brand-new program.”
Walker and her team organize the camp and create the curriculum. VPCC is contributing grant money to purchase new Lego systems and computers for students to use during the camp, as well as providing the space.
Elena Kuchina, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) faculty member at VPCC, helped at the inaugural camp and will do so again this year. She said students enjoyed last year’s camp because it offered almost one-on-one mentorship with the Knights, some of whom were campers’ peers from high school.
She noted it sends a great message for the College to be involved.
“We are investing in the community, particularly STEM,” Kuchina said, adding the camps also bring awareness that the College is a good place for STEM students.
“High schoolers see us as a potential educator,” she said. “It doesn’t matter which age group you’re serving, we’re bringing families on campus.”
The cost for the five-day camp is $150, including a T-shirt. Scholarships are available, said Walker.
“We don’t want to run anybody away,” she said, but they do need to cover the cost of materials.
There is room for 20 campers each week. To register, go to https://team122.org/pages/outreach. The registration deadline is July 6. The camp will run from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and campers are responsible for their own snacks.
