At SchoolAmanda Vaden
STEM Spotlight: Penn-Harris-Madison Short Circuits Sphero Program

Welcome to the Sphero STEM Spotlight! On this new segment of the blog, we’ll take a look at a school, district, or other educational organization that’s using Sphero robots and/or littleBits kits to bring fun, engaging learning to life.

This month’s featured district is the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation (PHM) in Mishawaka, Indiana. 

Matthew Hapke, the district’s Director of Information and Technology, shared with us about how their pilot program brought Sphero BOLT to more than 200 third graders to create the Short Circuits Sphero Program, in partnership with the Penn High School Robotics Team. Together they learned about coding and robotics, built custom competition fields and obstacle courses, and practiced invaluable STEM skills. 

Recently, they held a robotics showcase where family and other students could attend to see the robots in action. 

Additionally, Sphero BOLT robots are being used to implement Indiana state standard curriculum for STEM, specifically programming and general technology for all PHM students in grades K–12. 

We’re excited to see what else the students in PHM schools learn next! 

Is your school or organization doing something awe-STEM with Sphero robots or littleBits kits? Tell us about it and we may feature you on our next STEM Spotlight. 

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