Teens from Lowell High School join computer science and art majors from UMass Lowell to create some really cool robotics this summer, in a project funded by the National Science Foundation. Supervising and harnessing the young talent will be cross-disciplinary collaboration: artist Jerry Beck of the Revolving Museum and UMass Lowell professors Hyun Ju Kim, Art Department, and Holly Yanco and Fred Martin, Computer Science Department.

The seven participating students are developing moving projects or interactive displays for visitors to the Lowell Folk Festival and for the Southeast Asian Water Festival, then incorporating their work into a gallery display for the Revolving Museum.

The demonstration project kicked off with a team-building art project at the Revolving Museum. The students, who will receive a stipend for the summer, must work in teams as they design, program and construct their inventions.

The novel combination of arts and computing to create public, community-based exhibits introduces the often-abstract principles of computer science in a concrete, appealing way. The team-based learning environment is designed to empower women and minorities, dispelling the notion of the antisocial programmer.

A new course for UML undergraduates will be developed for the spring semester, also involving the combination of arts and computing. The undergraduates will help mentor Lowell High students in after-school workshops at the Revolving Museum.