Orono Community Education

Unlock your creativity in this architectural LEGO® class! Learn 3D design principles and math skills through building structures, towers, castles, and more. Work in pairs to explore concepts like scale, stacking vs. staggering bricks, and architectural fundamentals while constructing houses with removable roofs, castles with turrets, and mighty towers.

Learn the basics of 3D modeling and printing using Tinkercad, designing custom parts for your very own robots. Build two DC-powered robots: a sketchbot and drive bot. Students should be comfortable using a laptop and mouse.

Explore logic, pattern recognition, and math concepts as you are challenged to build robots. Develop basic programming techniques using custom-made programming blocks on PCs. Get hands-on experience using gears, axles, and connector blocks in robotic challenges.

Where the future of cars is built, one brick at a time! Use LEGO® bricks to design and construct a variety of cars, including wind-powered vehicles, high-performance drag racers, and rubber band propelled cars. You'll be guided through the engineering and design process, learning how to create environmentally friendly and efficient cars.

Get ready for a messy adventure! Dive into a world of slime and goo, as we explore chemical reactions in a fun, hands-on way. From sticky concoctions to bouncy mixtures, you'll unleash your creativity while tackling engineering challenges and more.

Bring fairy tales to life as you solve engineering challenges inspired by beloved stories. Tackle a new project each day to help your favorite characters, from designing the perfect chair for Goldilocks to inventing a clever way for Rapunzel to escape her tower. Through teamwork, imagination, and exploration, you'll gain confidence in problem-solving and creativity, making each day an adventure in engineering and storybook magic!

Program robots to move, act, and think on their own. Discover the excitement of programming your robot to follow a command and watch it go. Learn the foundations of building and programming concepts. You'll work in teams and be challenged to turn your projects into better, stronger, and faster robots.

Are you curious about how hackers think or love to solve puzzles? Experience the world of coding, ethical hacking, and cybersecurity. Uncover the techniques hackers use, practice on specially designed websites, and master the skills to protect your online information. Play Capture the Flag games where you'll crack codes and outsmart cyber threats.

Design and build your very own battlebots to face off against other teams! Using gears, LEGO® Technic pieces, and moving parts, you’ll work in small teams to create bots that can battle, rescue, race, and more! Improve your design after each challenge, test again, and see who comes out on top.

Do you have what it takes to survive in the wild? You and your team will be challenged to create clever contraptions to survive in the wild! Engineer a periscope, harness the power of the sun to cook marshmallows, build a device to filter water, construct a shelter, and so much more.

Dive into the world of Minecraft modding! Using Minecraft EDU, learn to craft custom adventure maps and programming teleporters. Explore mods like Industrial Craft and Parzi’s SW Mod to create automated factories, vehicles, and jetpacks.

Use MCreator to create your own mods based off your favorite superheroes. Design unique superhero abilities and tools for Minecraft Java Edition. Students should have basic reading skills and be comfortable using a computer. Bring a USB drive to save your games.

Follow your Pokémon trainers in daily STEM projects! Collect special cards, make a fizzing Poké Ball, light up Pikachu, catapult, and more. You'll be a Pokémon master by the end of the week!

Become a writer, artist, designer, and developer, as you create your very own Pokémon-themed video game using Bloxels and a tablet. You’ll be building games from the ground up; designing characters, levels, and challenges. Bring your Pokémon adventure to life!

Get ready for epic LEGO® model battles! Design, build, and program your own remote-controlled LEGO® models to compete in challenges. Learn strategies to develop effective tactics for winning battles. Apply engineering principles to design and build models that are powerful and durable.

Let the battles begin! Designed by the experts at MIT, the LEGO® WeDo Robotics’ unique system teaches students about simple machines, engineering, programming, and so much more. You'll construct a catapult, tank, battle axe, crossbow, and more!

Have you ever thought about creating your very own family of robotic pets? Whether you want your robotic pet to be cute, cuddly, or playful; you’ll have motors, batteries, and other supplies at your disposal to create!

From a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars comes to life! Design out-of-this-world scenes, vehicles, starships, and props to create a stop-motion animated Star Wars short. Learn the digital filmmaking process from start to finish as well as many themed coding activities throughout the week. Bring a USB drive on the last day.