Rob9-16, a robotics and electronics club run by Técnico students at Oeiras campus, offered a series of workshops for young people aged 9 to 16 during the summer break. For three weeks, 40 participants had the opportunity to engage in practical and interactive activities, gaining hands-on experience in science and technology.

Between 24 and 28 June, seven 2nd cycle students participated in the activities organised by the Rob9-16 project. This week was full of challenging and educational activities, kicking off with a Peddy Paper called “The Taguspark Heist”. In this activity, the young scientists helped a professor recover technological components, thus exploring the Técnico – Oeiras campus by solving codes and clues.

Throughout the week, the young people explored various technological areas, including 3D modelling and printing, Arduino activities, rocket launching, welding and an introduction to artificial intelligence. On the last day, the students participated in the “Egg Drop” activity, where they created protective structures for eggs dropped from the second floor.

Miguel, a 6th grader, commented: “This week I participated in various activities such as the ‘Pisca-Pisca’ with Arduino and the Peddy Paper. The monitors let us express ourselves and talk about things. I really like technology”.

From July 15 to 19, the activities were aimed at 3rd cycle students and included creating websites, programming with Arduino, building BOT’N ROLL robots and the famous “Egg Drop” activity.

Margarida, a 7th grade student, said “I think it’s a good initiative for people of my age to know what they want to do and to learn more about computer science and engineering”. Vasco, also attending the 7th grade, enjoyed “learning how to program and work with computers and robots. This week teaches us something we can use in the future”. Tiago, a 8th grade student, highlighted the experience as “a good opportunity to make new friends”.

During the third week of activities, between 22 and 26 July, 17 students from the 2nd and 3rd cycles took part in the ‘Smart City’ project. The young scientists worked on developing a smart city and learned basic and advanced concepts in programming, welding and 3D printing. The participants designed houses using 3D modelling, assembled car circuits and programmed their movements, creating a smart and functional city.

Teresa, a 4th grader, shared her enthusiasm: “I’ve already learned how to program and do 3D modelling. We have a lot of fun while learning”. Tiago, a 7th grader, explained: “We created 3D modelling of some houses and a gas station. We also set up a circuit for the cars that will be passing through the city.”

The summer activities organised by Rob9-16’s have proved to be an enriching and inspiring experience for future scientists, providing them with practical and theoretical knowledge in various areas of science and technology. These initiatives not only awaken young people’s interest in engineering, computer science and robotics, but also offer a practical vision of future possibilities in technological areas.