Gray Stone Day School recently hosted two summer STEM camps for rising 6th and 7th graders. They will sponsor two more toward the end of the summer as well.

Utilizing their new Design Lab space, Jeff Brown created a camp where students built a hydraulic robot.

Using common materials such as cardboard, skewers and oral medicine syringes the students built a robot that had a jointed model arm and a simulated hand capable of picking objects up all mounted on a rotating base.

Campers learned about robotics, levers and hydraulics and then applied their knowledge to the construction of their robot.

During the week the students learned how to fabricate and assemble many complex parts using hand and power tools.

The purpose of the camp is to give young students a taste of STEM through a realistic and engaging project.

“I want them to get excited about STEM and see STEM as a way to solve real world problems and get exposure to engineering in a way that is relative for them,” said Brown.

The students were able to take home their robots.