STEM Guyana delivers the Magic of Robotics at 2017 Berbice Expo

The vibrant team accepted the invitation from the Central Berbice Chamber of Commerce, and took to patrons of the 2017 annual Berbice Expo, being held at the Albion Sports Complex in East Berbice Corentyne, (Region Six), the famous First Global 10th place World Robotics Championship creation and MIT Scratch programming, among other robotics’ exhibits.

Co-founder of STEM Guyana, Karen Abrams, explained that the initiative sought to sensitize parents and expose youths to the magic of technology by highlighting the importance of technological fields as Robotics in modern-day Guyana.
“Today’s youth will need to be properly prepared for a much different Guyana; one that is technologically advanced, and where STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math] skills will be in high demand… Young people all over the world are being prepared to take advantage of these opportunities, and STEM Guyana is intent on making sure that Guyana’s youth won’t be left behind”, Abrams advanced.
Team members Horace Moseley and Christopher Nelson were at the Expo, and expressed their satisfaction at the tremendous support and interest of the patrons in the robotics’ creations.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the huge crowds and by the interest in our booth. Crowds just kept coming, and we were literally swamped from the time we opened up the booth to (the time we walked) away after 10pm with the robots in our arms. People kept asking questions, and we were happy to share information with them,” Moseley shared.
Team STEM Guyana participated at the inaugural Robotics Olympics hosted in Washington, D.C (USA) in July this year, and after four months of preparation, managed to secure the 10th place out of 164 other contesting nations.
Hosted under the theme “H2O Flow,” the competition sought the critical thinking, strategy, and ingenuity of the competitors, who were tasked with creating robots that would help solve the problem of access to clean water.
STEM Guyana member and Coach of the outstanding Team Guyana, Ricky Chan, related that since returning from the Washington DC competition in July 2017, STEM Guyana members have been working on various beneficial projects.
“Some have gone back to university and high school, some are working on upgrading the Math App, others are working on the STEM Guyana Math, Robotics and Programming leagues, while others are working in the STEM Guyana Labs program to build a prototype of a working robot which will be designed to solve a major problem facing communities in Guyana”, Chan divulged.
STEM Guyana is a local initiative that is sponsored by the Office of the First Lady and the Guyanese Diaspora who are intent on “unleashing the world class potential of Guyanese youth” through teaching of technology concepts using Lego Mindstorm robotics, MIT Scratch programming, and competitive Maths programs at both the primary and secondary levels of education.
The STEM Guyana team in Berbice included STEM Guyana Co-Directors Colin Sawh and Karen Abrams, Certified Trainer [pending] Aishia Peters, Team Guyana Coach and Certified Trainer [pending] Ricky Chan, TEAM Guyana members Horace Moseley and Christopher Nelson, and Volunteer Project Manager Romaine Benn.