A learning excellence program in a science museum as a pathway into robotics

Abstract

There is growing interest to the use of robots in science museums for demonstration of technological innovations and introducingthe principles of human-robot interaction. This paper considers the educational robotics programs developed at MadaTech incollaboration with the Technion, aimed to promote public understanding of robots, motivate young people to study robotics, andfoster excellence in technology and science education. The robot theatre performances and the OlympiYeda competition of theMadaTech 2010 Robotics Year are analyzed. The characteristic features of the programs such as learning in a rich environment,learning through interactive robot demonstration, and learning in a diverse community are evaluated.