Robot music camp 2013: An experiment to promote STEM and computer science

Abstract

In order to get students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) areas and to increase preparedness in STEM subjects for successful college education, we developed a STEM curriculum connecting music based on Lego® NXT robots and Java MIDI programming. Through this, we are able to teach the STEM subjects in-depth and create interactive musical robots by emphasizing the computer science behind it. According to surveys from the first summer camp in summer 2013 with eleven high school students, the camp achieved the aforementioned goals and we believe it is a STEAM learning environment that could be effective in student recruitment and retention in STEM.