Robotics used to inspire Alexandra students

The creations of robotics and art students at the Alexandra School were put on display during their first annual exhibition on Tuesday.

The exhibition, held under the theme Inspire to Aspire, featured the outcome of weeks of coding and other training.

“This Inspire to Aspire theme was my initiative, and what I hope to gain by it within the school is to have our students aim for excellence in all aspects of their school life,” Acting principal Cheryl Gill Barbados TODAY.

“We used the coding and robotics team because they have been working hard throughout the year to get their kits together, and they have been very engaged throughout the duration of the classes thus far.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to motivate the other students within the school to become involved in such a programme, because it has tremendous benefits in terms of them developing their critical thinking skills and also giving them the platform to express curiosity, in terms of how things work and to be creative,” she added.

Robotics teacher Wayne Port, said there had been high interest in the robotics classes since the Ministry of Education provided robotics kits in late 2021.

“There are about 20 students in all that did it this year, and the enthusiasm was very high. The children enjoyed coding, they enjoyed learning and enhancing their logical skills, and they enjoyed the building aspect as well,” he said.

“The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with other students in the school who don’t do robotics looking on and expressing their disappointment with not having the opportunity to take part in the classes themselves.”

However, Port noted that the staggered approach to in-person classes since schools reopened after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how much students were able to do.

“Some students were able to complete the building of the robot in maybe four weeks, others took a bit longer, and because we were using the A and B system where students were coming in every other week, that would have slowed down the process,” the teacher explained.

Also on display on Tuesday were several art pieces by students and staff, including a unique art installation by Rianna Hinds.

“It’s made of styrofoam, coated with different layers of cement and paint, and we just used rocks found on the beaches of Barbados, and some fake plants to make it look attractive,” she explained.

“This was basically a creative project for my art exam; basically, we had to create three different ideas and pick the best one.”

Hinds admitted that the process was challenging.

“Constructing the project was kind of a hassle. I had to take some time off and try to get my thoughts together. At one point, I did not want it to be functional because I could not get it to stop leaking but I finally got it to work how I wanted it to,” she said. (SB)