Waverly students explore robotics at STEAM assembly

This week, Waverly students welcomed an exciting visitor, as Peter J. Phillips from “BOT! The Secret World of Robots” came to the district to speak to first graders about the exciting field of Science, Technology. Engineering, Arts and Math or STEAM.

The assembly, which was organized by the Waverly PTA, was an attempt by the parent group to reinforce the learning taking place in the classrooms across the district, including the important work being done at Waverly.

“We see how much technology is loved by the students and STEM is so important,” said Waverly PTA Cultural Arts Committee Co-Vice President Susan Mastrolia. “Especially adding arts into that, the kids are so thirsty for this knowledge and are so excited about the work that they’re doing with in STEM with Ms. Batz, so this all correlates with everything they’re learning.”

“BOT! The Secret World of Robots” is one of several programs run by Mobile Ed Productions—a company that specializes in bringing educational assemblies to classrooms all over the nation. This week’s presentations, which were held on April 7 and 8, centered around many facets of robotics, including the history of the field, how to identify what a robot is, and an overview of the real-world applications of robots in today’s world. 

“It gave the students an idea of how science really is everywhere,” said Mastrolia. “They see science and robots in the medical field, in the arts, they learned about historical figures like Leonardo DaVinci and it also gave them a look at the future and some of the things they will be doing one day,” said Mastrolia. “It stressed the idea of how art and technology can be combined and how this is going to shape the future.”