After Vasilați, RuralBots Initiative reaches Mitreni
In the summer of 2024 RuralBots Initiative It began in Vasilați, with the opening of the first Robotics Laboratory. Since then, the project has been conceived as a coherent and replicable program, not as an isolated intervention, linked to a single community.
Today we took the first concrete step towards expansion, by holding robotics demo classes for primary school children at Secondary School No. 2 in Mitreni. For many of them, it was their first encounter with educational robotics and, above all, the first time they could see what it means, in practical terms, to build and program a robot.
The children's reactions were natural: curiosity, questions, and the joy of seeing a robot respond to commands. These demo classes were not intended to evaluate or select, but to show children what educational robotics means and to tell them that such opportunities exist for them too.
The effort continues. Tomorrow there will also be demo classes for primary school children from Middle School No. 1 in Valea Roșie, and in the coming period demo classes are also planned for middle school students from both schools. It is important that all children have the opportunity to understand what it is about, in order to decide, together with their parents, whether this program is right for them.
The expansion of the RuralBots Initiative for children in the rural communities of Mitreni, Valea Roșie and Clătești is enjoying a local opening. Both the Mayor Ciprian Panait, as well as Mrs. Director Mihaela Cristea, have expressed interest in this program, an essential aspect when talking about medium and long-term implementation.
After the completion of the demo hours period, the registration stage will follow, as well as the necessary logistical organization so that the activities can begin in a structured manner. Our objective is for the robotics laboratory in Mitreni to become functional from the beginning of module 4 and to offer free robotics workshops to all children who wish to participate, throughout the school year.
In a first stage, the activity will be supported by the shared use of the kits and tablets existing in the Vasilați laboratory, until the Mitreni Robotics Laboratory will benefit from the help of partners who will be able to make it stand alone. It is a pragmatic solution, which allows us to start the activity without unnecessarily postponing the children's access to the workshops.
In 2024 I wrote that „"the equal opportunities ball started in Vasilați"”.
Today, through the first robotics demo classes held in Mitreni, that lump is starting to grow, as it was intended from the beginning: phased, responsible and anchored in the reality of each community.
Together, we build a better world.