Technology Ministry Funds Robotics Labs

Living the dream of all the homeworkladen schoolchildren who’ve ever fantasized about creating robots to take care of their assignments and chores, students at the country’s scientific high schools now have a chance to explore the world of robotics.

The Science and Technology Ministry (MICIT) granted ¢17.8 million (approximately $34,000) to the National System of Scientific High Schools (SNCCCR) to build robotics labs.

Minister Eugenia Flores said in a statement that a laboratory would be built at each of the nation’s nine scientific high schools, located in six of the seven provinces (Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Limón, Puntarenas and San José) and serving 450 students.

The new facilities will allow students to create robotic vehicles, mechanical arms and other technology, incorporating sound, images and light, she added.

The best projects to emerge from each school will be displayed throughout the country and at international fairs, according to a statement from MICIT.

Kenneth Rivera, who directs the National System of Scientific High Schools, said he hopes to motivate students to apply math, physics, electronics, optics and computer skills as they design and analyze models. Robotics has become an important part of education in developed countries, he said.

To gain admission to a scientific high school, students must earn grades of above 85% on the year-end exams for seventh, eighth or ninth grade, and pass an admissions exam.