Robotics for High School Students Fall 2026
Avian Robotics demonstration at the Fall 2025 KidsFest Charlotte
The UNC Charlotte STEM Pre-College Program is pleased to collaborate with Avian Robotics to facilitate this pilot High School Robotics Program during Fall 2026. This partnership is designed to provide students with an engaging, hands-on opportunity to explore robotics, programming, engineering design, and collaborative problem-solving in a university learning environment. Tentatively, this program will only be offered during the Fall 2026 semester.
The High School Robotics Program is designed for students of varying experience levels, including beginner, intermediate, and advanced participants. Throughout the semester, students will work collaboratively in teams using Parallax robotic equipment to design, construct, program, test, and refine robots capable of completing a series of designated tasks during the final Saturday Academy session. Activities will emphasize engineering design processes, coding fundamentals, troubleshooting strategies, teamwork, and applied STEM problem-solving.
Program Dates (Saturdays)
• September 12 & 19, 2026
• October 10 & 17, 2026
• November 7 & 21, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Virtual Thursday Sessions
• September 24, 2026
• December 3, 2026
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Virtual Thursday sessions will feature STEM-related enrichment topics designed to broaden students’ awareness of STEM careers, emerging technologies, college preparation, innovation, leadership, and related areas of interest. These sessions are intended to complement the robotics experience and may not be specifically robotics-focused.
Students will remain on campus with their robotic equipment throughout the duration of the program and will not be permitted to take robots home. Collaborative participation is strongly encouraged as students will work with peers throughout the semester to complete construction and programming objectives.
A certificate of participation will be awarded to students who successfully meet program attendance requirements. Students may have no more than one absence during the semester in order to receive a certificate of completion.
The High School Robotics Program is ideal for students interested in robotics, engineering, computer programming, technology, and hands-on STEM learning experiences in a supportive and academically enriching environment.