LIMA, OH (WLIO) - The YMCA is using Legos to teach kids technical and social skills that they can use later in life.
For the 12th year, the Lima Family YMCA is offering FIRST Lego League and FIRST Lego League Jr., where kids up to age 14 build different pieces each session to eventually construct a robot.
The program takes something that many kids would do for fun anyway and turns it into a way to sharpen their teamwork and critical thinking skills. The tasks also involve STEM concepts that could spark an interest in a potential career further down the road.
"We have a computer that the kids are able to code on. With the coding, they learn how to perform different tasks and how to move the robot on the computer. And there are different categories with that. Moving up and down, moving side to side, or just even moving forward," explained Brianna Keeler, the teen development director for the Lima Family YMCA.
Keeler says that even though the program is only a few sessions in, she's seen a noticeable improvement in the students' communication skills.
