GRC NEWS RELEASE 00-003




News Release 00-003



For Release: February 3, 2000



Sally V. Harrington
Media/Community Relations Office
(216) 433-2037
s.harrington@grc.nasa.gov



Patricia Martin
Cleveland Municipal School System
(216) 574-8143

<h3>Grant Establishing Lab Links Learning with Imagination</h3> 

Fueled by their enthusiasm and guided by their imaginations, students 
from East Technical High School will have the opportunity to learn 
first hand about today&rsquo;s world of robotics in a new 
LEGO<sup>TM</sup> Robotics Lab.



The new lab, established through a grant by the NASA Glenn Research 
Center, will combine a favorite construction tool of children and 
advanced computer technology. The learn-by-doing classroom will 
enable students to design a robot, allowing them to build and program 
their own intelligent inventions.



"Educating our children is critical to the future of NASA," said John 
Hairston, director of Glenn&rsquo;s External Programs. "Our 
partnership with East Tech has directly involved students and 
teachers in learning opportunities to encourage students to 
understand science, math and engineering in order for them to explore 
their world."



"We are delighted that our young men and women at East Technical High 
School will have this great opportunity," said Chief Executive 
Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett. "Working alongside a NASA Glenn 
engineer and their teacher in the LEGO<sup>TM</sup> lab will greatly 
enhance students&rsquo; knowledge-base of robotics. We thank NASA 
Glenn for assisting us in Educating Cleveland&rsquo;s Children."



The educational grant covers the purchase of LEGO robotics kits and 
computer software to teach the students about robotic design. In 
addition, Glenn will support the lab with an engineer who will assist 
the teacher and students.



"The state-of-the-art LEGO Robotics Lab will give students an 
opportunity to further develop their knowledge of technology, problem 
solving, logical thinking, engineering, and computer programming," 
said Jo Ann Charleston, chief of Glenn&rsquo;s Educational Programs 
Office.



Through the grant Glenn also continues to encourage the 
students&rsquo; interest in science and engineering with support for 
their participation in the annual FIRST (<u>F</u>or 
<u>I</u>nspiration and <u>R</u>ecognition of <u>S</u>cience and 
<u>T</u>echnology) robotic competition program. Glenn personnel will 
be available to advise the team in the building of their robot. This 
marks the seventh year that Glenn has collaborated with East Tech in 
this competition.



"We look forward to having a FIRST team compete at this prestigious 
event where our students compete against others from around the 
nation," said Principal Boris Morrison. "Our science program at East 
Technical High School will be enriched and our engineering students 
will definitely benefit. Our students are up to the challenge."



The LEGO Robotics Lab is the latest educational endeavor Glenn has 
initiated during the 20-year partnership with East Tech. The 
partnership has established numerous successful educational 
initiatives, including East Tech&rsquo;s Pre-Engineering Thematic 
Program and participation by students and teachers in Glenn&rsquo;s 
Summer Intern Program.




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