North Florida College
Contributor
On Monday, Jan. 23, young contestants of the Suwannee River Regional Library LEGO Club Extravaganza were in a competition to be the first to build, program and race LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots. While fun was a major theme of this event, participants learned elements of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Their hands-on experience was led by Bill Eustace, Program Instructor for North Florida College’s (NFC) Certified Production Technology (CPT) Program. “Toys like LEGOs can open doors to creative design thought,” said Eustace. “Fun and competitive experiences in subject areas such as STEM are the foundation to engineering and manufacturing.”
Eustace hosts the annual NFC Robotics Camp for middle school students and the NFC Mechatronics Camp for high school students, where groups engage in hands-on learning of robotics and software programming. The camps end with a final competition of their completed robots.
“Playful competitions like the LEGO event and the summer camps build student skills to explore related training and careers,” said Eustace.
Students who decide to enter the workforce after completing the CPT program may quickly become Supervisors of Production, Industrial Production Managers and more. CPT is also a building block for key NFC programs, such as Industrial Machinery Maintenance coming Fall 2023.
For more information on the CPT program or summer camps, contact Eustace at (850) 973-1670 or email eustaceb@nfc.edu.