Surf Internet joins forces with E3 Robotics Center to bring STEM activities to kids at Elkhart County 4-H Fair

During Kid’s Day at Elkhart County 4-H Fair on July 23 in Elkhart Township, Surf Internet and E3 Robotics Center joined forces to host a booth where children could interact with E3 Robotics Center’s various tech-related activities. In addition to tech demonstrations by the E3 Robotics Center representatives, the booth offered plenty of activities and competitions appropriate for kids under the age of 13. This gave children the opportunity to interact with tech and even win fun prizes as mementos of their experience.

“We have several of our students out here representing some of our programs,” E3 Robotics Center Executive Director Brian Boehler said. “Our high school level program is driving around our robot Cookie, which looks a little bit like the Cookie Monster. We also have one of our VEX V5 robots representing our middle school program and a VEX IQ robot representing our elementary program. We’re also demonstrating some other STEM principles.”

With so many activities offered at E3 Robotics Center booth at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, each child who stopped by the booth was able to find an aspect of STEM that they enjoyed. Many, like young fairgoer Gracie Stone, especially enjoyed the participatory demonstrations.

“I got to drive the blue Cookie Monster robot,” she said.

Offering STEM-based programming designed for kids ranging from K-12, E3 Robotics Center equips children to explore STEM, learn practical skills, and potentially spark their interest in pursuing a career in STEM.

“Giving students engaging, hands-on training with tech is really important to us,” Boehler said. “They can really develop not only their soft skills – problem solving, innovative thinking, persistence, team building – but they also grow technical skills that they can make use of later in life. Teaching these things at a younger age also plays into other educational key points like math, reading, and science. That’s why teaching STEM early is extremely important to us.”

As a fiber internet company, Surf Internet has a special interest in the field of STEM and bringing STEM learning opportunities to kids in the Michiana area. With this in common, forming a relationship with E3 Robotics Center was a no-brainer.

“We’re thrilled to partner with E3 Robotics for Kids’ Day at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. It’s exciting to give kids a space where they can have fun while discovering the power of technology,” Surf Internet Senior Director of Growth Marketing Amber Rodriguez said. “At Surf, we’re focused on connecting communities with transformative fiber-optic internet, and encouraging kids to explore and innovate fits right in with that mission.”

Whether they were teaching, participating in STEM-related activities, seeing kids light up as they received prizes, or simply saying hello, the Surf Internet representatives had a blast helping out at the E3 Robotics booth this year.

“It’s just great to see the smiles and emotions on the kids’ faces when they see all the different activities out here,” Jordan Holzwart, regional marketing director for Surf Internet, said. “Technology is growing and changing every day, so sparking an interest in it in our next generation is always a good thing.”To learn more about Surf Internet and its community outreach, visit surfinternet.com.