Students in District 11’s schools are working to make meaningful change through coding and building robots.

“It engages the kids in so much more than just the regular curriculum,” said Maryann Moriarty, robotics teacher at P.S. 19.

Students in her robotics class built tools, like a doggy bag dispenser to help pet owners keep the streets clean, a self-cleaning robot that helps school lunch aides and a tool to help people with Parkinson’s disease.

Over at P.S. 194, students built robots to help out one of their classmates.

“This is going to help me carry my stuff when transferring classes,” said Emme Torres, a student at P.S. 194. She is in a wheelchair, and her classmates build two robots to help her navigate the school better.

The first one can hold her belongings, like pens, pencils and notebooks, and will travel with her between classes.

The second one is a canopy that can detect balls and protect Torres from getting hit by a ball in gym class.

“The kids, they have no fear. They just immediately tackle it. They’re problem solvers,” said Claudine Conover, the District 11 STEM director.

The students will be preparing their robots for a yearly district-wide exhibition that will celebrate the students’ innovations.

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