Council Member Althea Stevens recently allocated $100,000 to the NYC First STEM Center at the Andrew Freedman Home, expanding Bronx students’ access to fun opportunities in robotics, engineering and more.
Stevens, who represents West Bronx neighborhoods including Morrisania, Highbridge, Yankee Stadium and Claremont Heights, presented the check on March 17 to NYC First, a citywide robotics program that aims to inspire a love of STEM and fosters healthy competition among various school groups.
The STEM center at Andrew Freedman hosts students from multiple district schools, and the funding will help the program expand to serve even more.
About 18 students from the award-winning Claremont International High School robotics team were on hand for Stevens’ announcement and took the opportunity to show off some of their creations, including a ball game using the robot they designed.
“NYC FIRST is deeply grateful to Council Member Althea Stevens for investing in students and educators in the Bronx by providing support for advanced digital fabrication technology,” said CEO Michael Zigman in a statement sent to the Bronx Times.
“This investment will help students shape the robots they design, build and code as they compete on robotics teams, and it will also help them shape their future pathways in college and career.”
Stevens, who chairs the council’s Committee on Children and Youth, told the Bronx Times that she has long advocated for STEM opportunities in the borough and has been stunned by what students can achieve at the “super tech-y” center at the Andrew Freedman Home.
“I literally was like, wait, this is what goes on here? I didn’t know the center did all the things that they did,” Stevens said.
She said technology can bridge barriers in age, language and more, and the STEM center is “something I’m really invested in.”
Beyond 3-D printers and programming equipment, robotics students also get a mini-lesson in marketing, as teams have been known to bring their own custom swag to the citywide competition, Stevens said. Students use equipment at the center to make logo-ed buttons, t-shirts and bags, putting their skills to tangible use.
Science and technology may not be the first things people associate with the Bronx, but Stevens said she continually looks to fund projects that bring “a different, unique perspective to the district.”
The historic Andrew Freedman Home, known as a hub for arts and community events, is currently hosting a new bodega-themed escape room created by Bronx STEM students — complete with a meowing robotic bodega cat.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
