Fourth, fifth graders in Kenosha 'build their life in Lego'

Jul 09, 2023

Vikranth Chitrapu, left, laughs as Sreehidhi Thiruveedhula hides her face in her hands as the duo’s creation begins to crumble in Chitrapu’s hands Monday afternoon during the Lego Summer Camp at LakeView Technology Academy on Monday.

Jacob Vargas, left, and Kati Turek, right, watch as Sonya Pugh begins to build her own Lego creation Monday afternoon at the LakeView Lego Summer Camp at LakeView Technology Academy.

From left to right, Adam Charrady, Kati Turek, Roman Sparesus and Zakaria Charrady work through a programming tutorial during the Lego Summer Camp at Lakeview Technology Academy Monday afternoon.

Jacob Vargas, left, and Sonya Pugh work through a programming tutorial during the Lego Summer Camp at LakeView Technology Academy Monday afternoon.

Mason Horton drives his Lego tank across a table at the Lego Summer Camp at LakeView Technology Academy Monday afternoon.

Kaden Fazzari, second from right, grabs a Lego from a center pile for his Lego creation at the Lego Summer Camp at LakeView Technology Academy Monday afternoon, as James Anderson, left, Mason Horton and Leo D’Angelo begin to construct their own creations.

The whirring of small electric motors, excited giggling and chatter filled the air at LakeView Technology Academy Monday afternoon during the school’s inaugural Lego Summer Camp.

The four-day camp, which welcomed fourth and fifth-graders to the school, kicked off with a Lego building free period in which students were tasked to “build their life in Lego.” Summer camp participants reached for various parts on the table as they searched for the perfect pieces for their creations, some of which turned out to be robots, cars and even a model Nintendo Switch.

After kicking the event off with Lego building, the participants then transitioned into computer science and programming. With their bright yellow Lego-brand boxes, students began to work through tutorials on programming and coding for their Lego robots.

This type of learning is part of Science Technology Engineering and Math curriculum, commonly known as STEM.

From learning to make a motor run to discovering how to program their creations to even make fart noises, students were more than enthusiastic to learn about the elements of their robots and all their capabilities.

Several participants asked “what if” questions as they worked through the tutorials and affixed Lego pieces to the motorized parts.

“I love seeing what they can come up with when they’re just given free rein (and) the tools to explore,” said LakeView math teacher Julie Dalka. “I love seeing their spark of curiosity that comes from it all.”

After a snack break, students went to work constructing their robots.

This is the first year a Lego Summer Camp has been offered through Kenosha Unified, and one of several to come according to LakeView Principal Beth Ormseth.

“We saw the need for computer science in the workforce, and Legos instantly turns kids on to learning,” Ormseth said. “It was a natural combination to be able to bring those two together to do this, and Lego is pretty user-friendly when it comes to setting up camps like this.”

Registration filled up quickly for the camp, which was beyond what Ormseth was expecting.

“We’re planning on expanding into middle school and replicating (the camp),” Ormseth said. “We’re excited about it.”

Ormseth said STEM-related camps offered to younger children are important because the kids are able to easily grasp the concepts.

“I think sometimes we underestimate the elementary age ability to grasp the concepts,” she said. “As the adults, we went through this ahead of time and (the camp students) got through it in about half the time we did.”

An additional four-day camp is also planned this month. Registration for that camp is already full.

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