St. Clair College offers students 'a million ways to create' with STEM kit donation

Assumption College Catholic Middle School students accept a donation of LEGO robotic kits from St. Clair College on Dec. 19, 2024. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)

St. Clair College’s Research and Innovation team is donating 122 LEGO robotics kits and 22 Apple iPads to students across Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Lambton-Kent.

The kits will be distributed to STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) teams at various schools.

“You can get very creative with them,” Grade 8 student Amogh Sreekantha told CTV News Thursday. “By adding robotics into this, you have a million ways to create these great inventions.”

He’s used the LEGO kits with his robotics team at Assumption College Catholic Middle School (ACCMS) and said the students who will be getting the new donations are very lucky.

ACCMS classmate Vicky Gao agrees.

“The other robots, you have to use metal and metal blocks,” the Grade 8 student explained. “But our Lego kits it uses actual blocks. So, kids can use it. And also it makes it colourful and fun.”

St. Clair College professors have also created a unique STEM robotics curriculum for the schools to sue.

“By combining resources with educational support, the College is developing a comprehensive approach to advancing STEM and robotics education in the region,” according to an SCC news release.

Thursday’s donation comes on the heels of a successful summer camp project organized by SCC for STEM robotics.

“One of our priorities as a Catholic school board is to provide outstanding learning experiences for our students and an essential part of that is having access to the latest and best technology,” said Melissa Farrand, WECDSB executive superintendent. “So, we’re certainly very grateful to our partners at St. Clair College for making this donation, which will prove very beneficial for our students.”

“Through our online platform and STEM initiatives at St. Clair, we are opening doors for underserved youth. By mobilizing resources and expertise, we aim to deepen their connection to knowledge. Every child – regardless of background – deserves to feel valued and empowered,” Dr. Karamjeet Dhillon, SCC Director of Research and Innovation is quoted in the release.