The Guam Green Growth (G3) Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub partnered with GTA to host a two-day coding and robotics workshop.
Nine students aged 12 to 16 were taught basic coding skills, programmed robots to drive through a racetrack, designed 3D printed items, and learned how to create circular economy products by touring the G3 Makerspace facilities at the CHamoru Village.
“Hopefully, the students will come away with an understanding of how coding is done and the foundational aspects of it,” said Colette Beausoleil, a STEM teacher at John F. Kennedy High School and the 2024 GDOE Teacher of the Year who facilitated the robotics portion of the workshop. “We are in our digital revolution, so what they learn are skills and exposure to things they will use in the future.”
These activities were part of Guam NSF EPSCoR’s commitment to bolstering the island’s STEM capacity and aligns with G3’s mission to develop tangible solutions to sustainability challenges and contribute to a green economy for the island region. Guam NSF EPSCoR is a catalyst for G3.
“We collaborate with G3 by providing connectivity in all of its centers throughout the year,” said Michele Catahay, the senior community relations manager at GTA.
“We’re always looking for ways to partner, so we talked about how we can incorporate technology and the circular economy and ended up creating an event that the kids could enjoy.”
According to G3 Circular Economy Coordinator Abby Crain, the community’s response to the event was enthusiastic.
“It would be great to do another workshop because we had so much interest in this one that we had a waitlist,” said Crain. “I hope the students came away from these activities more aware of the issues we’re facing so that they can use coding as a way to explore sustainable solutions to better the world that we live in.”
As for Ryan Brown, a tenth-grade student, the workshop was a chance for him to learn skills and meet new people.
“It was a very fun experience and a great way to make new friends,” said Brown. “For future workshops, I would like to see more sustainability education. The more people who are educated in that area, the more they can be compelled to do something about it.”
The coding camp is a deliverable under the Guam Ecosystems Collaboratorium for Corals and Oceans (GECCO) Strategic Plan under the Workforce and Development section. In the plan, coding camps will be held to increase IT capacity and workforce development in the jurisdiction, coding camps will be conducted for students and community members.
For future workshop schedules visit guamgreengrowth.org or visit them at the CHamoru VIllage in Hagatña.