Two grants from Lowe’s have helped the robotics programs at Prince Edward County Middle School and Prince Edward County Elementary School become mobile, Tammy Hurt, principal on special assignment, said.

Prince Edward County Public Schools (PECPS) received notification of the two grants, one for $4,950 for the middle school and $4,980 for the elementary school, in January.

“Both grants were written to create a robotics learning center, a mobile learning center,” Hurt said. 

The mobile carts that store the robotics programs, according to a news release about the grant, are “used to supplement content instruction as well as introduce students to robotics.”

The carts, Hurt said, allow the robotics kits to be easily moved from classroom to classroom.

“It’s just a lot of new technology we have in the school division that we’re getting through a lot of different grants,” Hurt said.

The elementary school carts, Hurt said, include sets of LEGO WeDo 2.0, a robotics kit that uses LEGO blocks to build robots using design and coding skills, and Wonder Workshop – Dash & Dot robotics kits, a colorful robot that teaches basic coding skills to students. 

At the middle school, Hurt said the programs are a bit more sophisticated, but no less fun. LEGO Simple and Power Machines kits, which Hurt said allows students to design machines that generate power. Students can see the energy created from the machines through what’s called a power cube.

“Students can really see how their designs will help shape the world and meet specific goals,” Hurt said.

Other robotics programs for the middle school have included the LEGO Mindstorm EV3 Core kits, which allow students to code, build and program different robots.

Lastly, students have been able to usher in May 4, Star Wars Day, early through its Star Wars LittleBits Droid Inventor Kits, where students can build robots similar to R2-D2.