Boys and Girls Clubs to Receive LEGO® Mindstorms® Sets at Iowa and Illinois Presentations
IA/IL QUAD-CITIES - On Wed., Jan. 29, 2014, in presentations on both sides of the river, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley (BGCMV) will receive LEGO® Mindstorms® sets, which contain the essentials for designing and building robots. Young people who are BGCMV members will be able to use these sets during after-school hours at the Davenport and Moline Clubs.
"The Mindstorms® sets are being donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs by employees representing John Deere and Case New Holland (CNH), and we thank them for their incredible generosity," said Tim Tolliver, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley.
The sets are being presented through an initiative of National Instruments, a provider of test, measurement, and embedded systems for engineers and scientists, and the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and the Council works with business, policy and education leaders from across the state to better position Iowa's young people and the state's economy for future success.
The presentations will be held at two locations on Wed., January 29, 2014. The public is welcome to attend both events:
From 2 - 2:30 p.m., a Mindstorms® set will be presented by a CNH representative to the Davenport Club, located at the First Presbyterian Church, 1702 Iowa St., Davenport, IA. Presenters will include Tim Tolliver; Tylor Svitak, CNH; Kristine Bullock, SE Iowa STEM Manager; and Liz Zimmerman, Program Director of the Davenport Boys & Girls Club.
From 3:30 - 4 p.m., a second Mindstorms® set will be presented by a John Deere representative to the Moline Club, located at 406 7th St., Moline, IL. Presenters will include Tim Tolliver; Kristen Schaeffer, John Deere; Kristine Bullock, SE Iowa STEM Manager; and Liz Zimmerman.
Since its introduction in 1998, the LEGO® Mindstorms® build-and-program robotics tool set has become the best-selling product in the LEGO Group's history.
Case New Holland is a maker of agricultural and construction equipment, while John Deere manufactures agricultural, construction and forestry equipment. Both companies operate on a global level and have a strong presence in the American Midwest.
Learning By Doing
"The LEGO® Mindstorms® sets are already extremely popular, and their popularity is bound to increase even more, with new movies like RoboCop and The LEGO Movie coming up," Tolliver said. "Our kids will have a lot of fun building these robots. Plus, they will gain self-confidence and valuable skills. That is why CNH and John Deere are providing kids with these sets: to help them to develop the skills that will make them the engineers of the future. We are especially pleased that Tyler Svitak and Kristen Schaffer chose to make these LEGO kits available to our club kids."
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley, as a chartered member of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, is a tax-exempt organization, duly qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions are tax-deductible in accordance with Federal law.
For more information on the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley, please call (309) 757-5777 or visit www.bgcmv.org.
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