Registration open for 2025 Summer Robotics Camp

Published 3.7.25

Students learn a lot at Summer Robotics Camps at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. But some of the most meaningful lessons aren’t limited to programming.

Aryn Stinnett is a student at King Middle School who participated in camp in 2024. Her experience inspired her to consider a career that might meld her interest in agricultural science and robotics.

“I would tell kids, just go for it. It’s really interactive, it’s very hands on, and you get to explore different things. Maybe you explore something you didn’t know a lot about and you learn, like I did, that you want to work in the field. Whatever you’re thinking about robotics, give it a shot. You might end up loving it like I do.”

Now is the chance for students like Aryn to register for the 2025 season of Robotics Camp in Pensacola. Registration for camp in Ocala opens March 17.

Students don’t need prior experience in programming or prior knowledge about robots to enjoy this camp, said Dr. Ursula Schwuttke, director of educational outreach for IHMC’s Pensacola and Ocala campuses. “There’s no better way to introduce these STEM concepts to your child.”

Amaya Harper is a sophomore at Gulf Breeze High School who attended last summer and definitely recommends it to other students. “I was worried at first that we would have to have some kind of background on it, but the program is really easy to ease into.”

Seren Tillery is an eighth grader at Creative Learning Academy said she learned a lot from robotics camp. “I brought it into my actual science curriculum where we have done some of the things from robotics camp and it has given me a leg up.”

Rising eighth graders should register for the week of June 2-5; rising ninth and 10th graders should register for the week of June 9-12.

Participants will spend four days learning to program LEGO Mindstorms robots, meeting STEM professionals and learning about robotics research at IHMC. No prior experience is necessary. Priority will be given to students who haven’t attended in the past.

Past camper Ben Fluharty, now a junior at Pace High School, was a camp volunteer last summer, assisting the instructor, helping younger students, and earning community service credit for his hours. “It’s fun and you’re developing the skills to work with people. You’re also opening your mind to stem careers.”

Camp is sponsored by the NextEra Foundation, Florida Blue and Cox. Their support helps make these camps possible and funds scholarships to cover camp fees for students from families of limited means.

Isabella Nickinson, now a freshman at West Florida High School, attended camp as a Workman Middle School student. Attending camp in the transition year between middle and high school was valuable, she said.

“I met a bunch of people I would be going to high school with, which was cool,” she said. “I liked how they have a different range of scientists, so it shows that different kinds of people can be a scientist. I would say to parents, ‘Send your kids. The worst thing that happens is that they don’t like it. The best thing that happens is that your kid will say, ‘This is cool. I can do this.’”

IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technology aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. IHMC researchers and staff collaborate extensively with the government, industry and academia to help develop breakthrough technologies. IHMC research partners have included: DARPA, the National Science Foundation, NASA, Army, Navy, Air Force, National Institutes of Health, IBM, Microsoft, Honda, Boeing, Lockheed, and many others.