SciBorg Sprouts Program at WSU’s Sloan Hall

“Coloring group” SciBorgs from left to right are Sara Moore, Joseph Miller and Nicole Coyle.

The Palouse Area Robotics team, the SciBorgs, rolled out its 2017 SciBorg Sprouts program March 25 at Sloan Hall.

The team took part in the eighth annual WSU Kids' Science & Engineering Day hosted by Society of Women Engineers and sponsored in part by Phillips 66, Granite Construction and WSU.

Several other science clubs from WSU had many hands-on activities and demonstrations. A record number of students, ages kindergarten through fifth grade, attended the one-day community science fair.

SciBorgs Sprouts engages younger elementary school children with activities that encourage experimentation and thinking skills. This year the program consisted of LEGO Mindstorms mission with its basic programming, glider building and testing and creative marble raceways to construct.

For those who love art, the kids could make their own elaborate robot masks.

The SciBorgs also brought its “Vortex” robot for the kids to see close-up. The younger students learned about the different systems of the robot: the climber system, the ball collector system, gear collector system and the ball shooting system. They even rolled wiffle balls across to the robot and watched it gobble them up.