Published August 05, 2016 by Tom Porter

Pilot Program Teaches Maine High Schoolers Robotics Through Bowdoin Upward Bound

A group of seven high school students from across Maine took part in a six-week pilot program on the Bowdoin campus this summer to learn about robotics and computer coding. The project was a collaboration between Bowdoin’s Upward Bound program, and a Maine-based non-profit called Gizmo Garden, which is run by Computer Science Research Associate Bill Silver and his wife, Judy.

Upward Bound is a federally funded program that supports high school students from low-income families and those in which neither parent has a degree, and helps them get into and succeed in college. Bowdoin has been hosting Upward Bound programs for fifty years. To showcase the work over the previous six weeks, this summer’s pilot project ended with a robot parade.