Students in the Powell High School and Powell Middle School robotics clubs brought some robots down to the elementary schools to show the younger kids the joys of coding last week.

The younger students learned about computer programming as part of a global movement called Hour of Code. Using online software, the Powell kids created dancing animations. The programs they wrote determined how the backgrounds moved, what kind of figures were dancing on the screen, and how they danced.

“What they start learning is the idea of debugging,” explained Mark Browning, fourth grade teacher at Southside Elementary. “When they first start, none of them can make it work. When they start to figure it out, the parts and pieces come together and they’re given more levels to make it more complex. Then, the bugs become greater. That idea is always fun to watch these guys come to grips with. They realize they are in full control. There’s nothing random going on.”

To further illustrate the practical application of coding, students in the Powell High School Robotics Club showed off their robots, which run code written by the high school students.

Freshman Owen Fink demonstrated Team 3188’s robot. Participants in the club have been working on the robot for a couple years now. Some of the pieces on the machine were created at the Powell MakerSpace, using the 3D printer and laser engraver.

“Most teams use Tetrix kits, but we took it a step further this year and made a ton of the custom pieces ourselves,” Fink said.

Caden Sherman, who helped program 3188’s robot along with fellow student Tristin Willett, said it was challenging to get the custom pieces to come out right.

“We were at MakerSpace until 2 in the morning for two days,” he recalled.

Unfortunately, the robot didn’t actually work for the students. The phone platforms that communicate inputs from the drivers to a phone onboard the robot updated, and the students didn’t have time to upload their code back onto the phones.

However, the club had a second robot, which did function, so they were able to show the younger students a robot in action.

The Hour of Code began as a brief introduction to computer science with the aim of demonstrating anyone can learn the basics of computer programming. The program has since grown to a worldwide educational practice. In the U.S., Hour of Code events are held during Computer Science Education Week.

The program doesn’t seek to make any of the participating students experts in programming; it gives them a taste of the field to show that computer science can be fun and creative.

Similar exercises in Powell were held at Parkside and Westside elementary schools.