Andrea Johnson/MDN Ali Auch, Full STEAM Ahead executive director and founder, speaks at a press conference about beginning a Lego League Jr. program for 6- to 10-year olds on Tuesday at Minot State. She is surrounded by some of the children who will participate in the program.

Older kids in Minot already have an opportunity to explore robotics with the FIRST Lego League program, but now younger kids will too.

Full STEAM Ahead launched a First Lego League Jr. program for children ages 6 to 10 this week at MSU.

Children in the program will meet in Swain Hall on the Minot State University campus and their coaches will be Minot State students who are majoring in teacher education.

Ali Auch, executive director and founder of the Full STEAM Ahead program, said the program would not be possible without the sponsorship of SRT, which provided funding to help purchase equipment for the 12- week program, and of MSU.

Auch said the youngsters will learn important lessons about science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, but also about how to work together in teams.

The kids will meet in teams of six with their coaches over the next six weeks. According to a press release, the teams will follow a curriculum based off a 2019-2020 theme called “Boomtown Builders.” They will study how to meet the needs and challenges of people in their community and come up with a solution to a problem. Each team will build a working model and create a poster for a presentation at the end of the program.

“Currently, there is a First Lego League program in Minot geared towards ages 11 to 16, but nothing for younger children. This new program will allow kids to build an even earlier interest in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Steve Lysne, SRT CEO and general manager, in the press release. “As a technology company, we understand the importance of this education track because we see it daily in our business, and we are proud to sponsor this new program for kids in our area.”

“We are helping children develop a passion and an interest in robotics at a young age. When children explore concepts behind programming and building robots, all while working together as a team, they learn so many life skills. We are proud to partner with and be powered by SRT!” said Auch, in the press release. Full STEAM Ahead executive director and founder.

Steve Shirley, president of Minot State University, said MSU students will also benefit from working with the youngsters.