GEARBOX LABS PRESENTS CODING WORKSHOPS AT THE LIBRARY

Gearbox Labs is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “produce cutting-edge and rigorous STEAM education resources and programs for schools, homeschools, out-of-school programs, and self-motivated learners.” With over 45 years of education experience in the classroom, education publishing, and children and adult learning as well as numerous awards for their work, the founders created Gearbox Labs to address an international shortage of STEM professionals.

The public is invited to attend a free workshop at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library located at 431 W. Center Street in Whitewater. The workshop will offer an introduction to engineering, electronics, and coding using Arduino, which is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs – light on a sensor or a finger on a button, for example – and turn it into an output – activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller on the board.

There will be a workshop for youth in grades 5 through 12 as well as a separate workshop for educators. The youth workshop is on Friday, June 2 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The educator workshop is for teachers, librarians, teacher aides, homeschool educators, instructors, informal educators, and group leaders, and will take place on Saturday, June 3 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided, and participants will go home with a free book and kit. There is no cost but registration is required as space is limited. Visit whitewaterlibrary.org and click on “Events—Registration Forms” to sign up, or contact Sarah French at sfrench@whitewater-wi.gov or 262-458-2782.