One edutainment centre is on a mission to change the way children think about learning
From R2D2 and C-3PO to interactive dog toys and vacuum cleaners, robots are all around us. Robotics has become a modern addition to curriculums worldwide, but many children lose interest when faced with technical terms and lengthy lectures.
But a new centre in the capital is looking to change all that, guiding children through hands-on missions to create their own moving and fighting robots of all shapes and sizes.
The company
Creative Robotics originated in Malaysia in 2003 as a way of teaching STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – in an interactive way. The centre uses robotic learning to teach creativity, logical thinking, problem-solving skills, teamwork and more.
After desperately trying to find an educational outlet for his young son to take things apart and piece them back together, local resident Nooruddin Ahmed gained the license to bring the centre to the UAE.
The first overseas branch, located next to Emirates Bowling Village in Marina Mall, was opened on 12th September 2014 with the help of chairman and sponsor Khalid Ali al Mansoori and the Creative Robotics team from Malaysia.
Billing itself as an ‘edutainment’ centre that combines education and entertainment, Creative Robotics seeks to take children out of the boring learning environment and teach them STEM while having fun.
“It’s the difference between science in talk and science in action. They can also use their imagination because we’re not just talking about learning robotics; it’s robotics as a tool to open the mind,” said Ahmed.
The missions
The team is quick to point out that children won’t attend lessons, but rather complete ‘missions’. With 120 missions in total, which Ahmed estimates would take 2 ½ years to complete, there is plenty of opportunity for each child to learn and progress.
The range of missions means there are various degrees of difficulty, so even children as young as five-years-old can join a mission “as long as they don’t eat the parts”!
First-time engineers can follow the basic solution while more advanced teenage builders are encouraged to think outside the box and create their own solutions.
A fun briefing gets students geared up for the mission before they get stuck in, building the robot and taking part in a friendly competition. Each mission takes about two hours and children who complete the mission are awarded with stars and trophies to mark their progress.
The first mission Creative Robotics UAE shared with its budding engineers was ‘Race to the Sun’. The challenge, which helps promote solar energy, involved building a robotic car with a laser light sensor. Children then wave a small torch back and forth in front of the sensor to move the car and race it to the finish line. Asking questions and using logical thinking means many children will make tweaks and realise that by changing
the wheels to bigger ones, their car will go faster.
Other missions include making a bowling robot that can releases a ball and knocks down pins; a motion-sensitive alligator that walks; and sumo-wrestling robots.
Ahmed and his team believe gaining hands-on experience gets children excited about learning and helps them better understand concepts.
“At the end of the day, most teaching is book oriented,” explains Ahmed. “All of the learning has been two-dimensional; there’s a one-way communication from student to teacher so children feel bored and shift out of the sciences. In the UAE, there’s an imbalance; less than 29 per cent of kids are in the science field and it needs to get back to 50/50. Unless you have an environment at home that facilitates the learning of STEM, most kids don’t understand it. You’re talking about ratios, gears, velocity, speed and trying to give them pictures in a textbook. When kids come into Creative Robotics and we explain that the velocity is proportionate to the wheel size, they get it.”
Ahmed also points out that many parents quickly become engaged, excited to see their children focusing on a mission and executing it successfully.
“The whole atmosphere is geared around having fun. The curriculum is an engaging format that’s been tested for years.”
Ahmed stresses that the quality of education is very important, so the staff is made up of teachers and those with a background in technology.
“It’s a community initiative. We’re filling a void to make sure people have fun. The business comes second.”
Creative Robotics is open daily from 10am to 9pm. The centre offers robotic themed missions for children aged 5 and above. On offer are regular sessions, walk-ins as well as robotic field trips for school children. Missions start at AED 100 for a two-hour session to AED 350 for a month of four sessions.
Rachael Peacock
