TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Robotics Center cut the ribbon on March 29.
People with the Center said the goal is to cultivate critical thinking, teamwork, and creativity in kids. This comes as there’s also a growing focus on getting kids into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
When 2 News asked Anthony Pollard, 16, if he wished he had a robotics center like this when he was younger, he replied, “Yeah, this is amazing."
"I’m glad I could be part of it now," he added, "and it’s bigger steps than we’ve ever had.”
The high schoolers we spoke with have loved robotics since they were kids.
The thing that made Camryn Hayes, 18, say, "Ah, that's cool!" as a child was “definitely the people and the teams that surround you."
"They act like your family, so the environment is really nice. It’s a lot of fun, especially the mechanical aspect ... for me, building stuff," he continued. "Obviously, I was a Lego kid when I was a child.”
As future youth mentors with the new Tulsa Robotics Center, they can help pass that love on to the next generation and, hopefully, get them interested in STEM fields.
“I wanted to get involved because STEM and robotics is going to be a lot of what the future is, especially with AI and things like that," said Pollard. "We’re shifting more towards a technology-based society.”
The newly opened center will host robotics programs for children from fourth grade through 12th.
It will house teams and clubs that are about more than just robots — including FIRST Lego League (FLL), First Tech Challenge (FTC), and First Robotics Competition (FRC) teams.
"We currently have seven teams across those various levels, and it's a great opportunity to learn about life skills, leadership, development," the Center's executive director, Christopher Smith, told 2 News. "We're developing kids to be leaders of the future."
One robot that Pollard and two of his friends — Josh Cox, 18, and Andrew Pollard, 14 — masterminded at the Center can suck frisbees off the ground before shooting them into targets, perform pull-ups, and speed around with lightning speed.
While robotics can be fun and games like that one, people at the Center told us they can also teach some serious skills.
Pollard is serious about getting more funding for such team programs in Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma is one of the states that has little funding," he explained.
He started the Oklahoma Robotics Alliance, which he said promotes all the different programs in the state and advocates for legislation to provide more funding for community organizations and public schools.
“So, [we're] trying to close that gap and get more funding for Oklahoma," he continued, "because, well, this has changed my life and trying to make that and change other people's lives and hopefully find a new passion that is kind of what we wanna do.”
The Tulsa Robotics Center is at the Corporate Woods office complex near East 41st and South 129th (4500 S. 129th E. Ave., Tulsa, OK). Corporate Woods donated all 10,000 feet of space for the Center.
The TRC website says it will soon host summer education programs. Click here for more details on that and many other things.
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