CRESTVIEW — New educators will soon zip around Antioch and Bob Sikes Elementary Schools' hallways.
But these run on batteries.
'AWESOME ROBOTS'
BOLT, Antioch’s robot, was acquired earlier this year through a Department of Defense Education Activity grant, third-grade gifted inclusion teacher Laura Pink said.
The almost 5-foot-tall machine, which can move forward and backward, laugh and say "hello" and "thank you," is valued at $6,999, according to the manufacturer's website.
“Antioch is one of the five Okaloosa elementary schools to have the PITSCO labs that received these awesome robots for their school to incorporate into their curriculum,” Pink stated in an email.
PITSCO — a national company that develops science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula and teaching materials — also has labs in Eglin, Florosa, Bluewater and Mary Esther elementary schools.
Bob Sikes’ lab, which isn’t a PITSCO facility, was created several years ago under a grant secured by then-principal Gary Massey, Principal Vicky Hayden said.
The schools received the robots because of their high military family populations, Okaloosa Schools’ CHOICE and CTE District Director Patti Bonezzi said.
TRAINING ROBOTS
Science and robotics teachers, including Pink and Bob Sikes' Dottie Holland, trained on the machines yesterday.
“Our goal is to use the robot for students to program, and incorporate it into teaching lessons, events at school, etc.,” Pink said.
Antioch kindergartner Molly Kate Callahan named BOLT after winning a school-wide contest.
Bullpups likely will have their naming contest in the coming weeks, Hayden said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Robots help teach students about science, technology, engineering and math