There is a long hallway that runs the length of Collins Middle School in Oak Hill, West Virginia. It’s usually pretty quiet this time of year, but on a Thursday morning in late July, that usual summer quiet was replaced with the sound of chatter, clacking keyboards and the unmistakable whirring of tiny motors.
A group of seventh-graders stood at one end of the hall, watching a small robot make hairpin turns as it navigated its way through a maze of purple tape. When it came to a stop, the girls exchanged congratulatory high fives. They were celebrating the culmination of days of work at the new Girls Interested in Robotics Lego and Scratch program.