RoboCamp Information Page

Click the following keys to learn about our programs' characteristics.

Five Ways to Save...

Savings...	How?
$10 to $30 Early Enrollment	$30 if register by Feb-15 $20 if register by Mar-15 $10 if register by Apr-15. Full Payment is due on Apr 15.
$20 off per additional module	Sign up for multiple modules. (only apply to summer schedule)
5%off (max $100)	Siblings. (applies to the lower fee after all other discounts have applied)
$20 off	SR's alumni (apply to those who have attended week-long robocamp or roboclub on-site programs)
$10 off	$10 for each friend you refer. Eligibility - Each friend: has never attended Storming Robots' programs; is not sibling; must register and complete at least one module.

Extended Hours ...

center Hours during summer workshops
Regular Hours	Drop off time: No earlier than 8:30am. Full Day: 9am to 3pm AM Half Day: 9 - 11:30am PM Half Day: 12:00 - 3:00pm
Extended Hours	From the end of the camp to 6:00pm $10/hour after 3:15pm. Pick up takes place 15 minutes after the hour will be subject to full extended hourly rate $10/hr.

Lunch Option ...

Fresh apples at the facility everyday at no cost. (Participants will only be charged $1 for each apple they waste.)
Friday: FREE Pizza Day.
Mon-Thur: You may bring your own lunch or purchase it (additional cost) at the time you arrive.

Meals Menu will be posted no later than early June.

High Returning Rate of participants and staff

While we have over 92% returning rate of our school-year-round roboclub students, the returning rate of summer participants is over 45%. The returning rate of our staff is 99%. This is a clear evidence in proving the high value our summer programs has delivered.

IMPORTANT: Code of Conduct

In order to maintain an environment which is not only educational, but also safe and fun for all attendees, our code of conduct IS STRICTLY enforced. Please read our center policy regarding code of conduct.

If a participant repeatedly violates the code of conduct or commits serious disciplinary offenses, participation will be terminated at the administration’s discretion without refund.

Payment & Refund Policy

Schedule of Payment and Refund Deadlines
Withdrawal	Refund : minus $20 non-refundable administrative cost minus $35 non-refundable administrative cost if you have chosen equal monthly CC payments method
Prior to May 15th, '09	100 % minus administrative cost
May 15th-31st, '09	50 % minus administrative cost
After May 31st, '09	No Refund
	Exceptions: If it is due to medical reason, letter of verification from your child's doctor is required.

Important Note: If a participant repeatedly violates the code of conduct or commits serious disciplinary offenses, participation will be terminated at the administration’s discretion without refund. Most of our modules were filled between March and May. All of staff assignment and classes preparation work has been completed according to registration by May. This refund policy is put in place in order to conduct proper coordination of staff and classes management, as well as being fair to those who may have been declined as a result of full enrollment.

"Go to view the 2009 Schedule Page

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Sample Day

Camp Hours
Regular Hours		Extended Hours
Full Day: 9am to 3pm AM Half Day: 9 - 11:30am PM Half Day: 12:00 - 2:30pm		From the end of the camp to 6:00pm
Drop off time: no earlier than 8:30am. Any pick up takes place 15 minutes after the regular dismissal time will be subject to full extended hourly rate, $10/hr.
Bring your lunch and a couple small snacks if you attend full day.

What will campers do...
Sample daily schedule & activities for full day programs at Branchburg location. (note: Outdoor activities are available at the Somerset location.)

General	.Description
	Design and build LEGO robots from scratch; Automate their creation through programming on a PC; Learn basic mechanical engineering concepts, robotics, and programming; Develop problem solving and strategic thinking skills; Participate in daily theme-based challenges and mini-contests; Create intelligent and sometimes some crazy and funny ideas; Encourage "Outside the Box" thinking; Learn fun facts relating to sessions' theme.
Daily	08:30-09:00	Drop off (no early drop-off, please)
Schedule	09:00-10:30	Goal for the day, planning and discussion Instructional building and programming
	10:30-10:45	Snack Break
	10:45-12:15	Create your own including designing, building and programming
	12:15-12:45	Lunch Break***
	12:45-01:45	Robotics Activities with mini-challenge and/or science experiments.
	01:45-01:55	break
	01:55-02:45	Robotics activities with mini-challenge Final 45-minutes contest on the last day.
	02:45-03:00	tidy up (organize their own LEGO sets)
	03:00-03:15	Pick up. Pick up takes place 15 minutes after the hour will be subject to full hourly rate, $10/hr.
	03:15-06:00	MUST specify which days if you need for
		extended care. Fee for extended care must be submitted on the first day of camp.

Participant's Gift & Award

Each participant will receive a practical souvenir. Gift certificate shop.lego.com will be rewarded to two mostly dedicated participants.

For Novice and Experts.

Two typical questions:

Q1: The student attends module "X" last summer, will he/she be doing exactly the same thing like last summer if he/she joins the module "X" again this summer?

A1: The answer is two-folded:

A1.a: NO. Our program often facilities multiple levels of challenging extensions for talented individuals. Our goal is to stretch their capability as much as they feel comfortable with. For those with higher capability, they will also be given work with higher complexity as well. Therefore, there will often be something different and more importantly more challenging. Contact the director for more information.

A1.b: Unless the student has been consistently working with Mindstorms during the school year, he/she most likely will need to do quite a bit of review. This is particularly true for the more complex classes, such as Robotic Soccer. Most kids did not accomplish the game to their satisfaction last summer due to the complexity. They will have the opportunity to further polish their skills in this term.

Q: What if a student is a fast learner, and very talented, will he or she have to slow down all the time to wait for others?

A2: Absolutely NOT. We recognize some may present much higher ability in understanding the abstract of programming, as well as high level of mechanic concepts. When our instructors recognize such talented children, they will ensure they will be kept engaged with more challenges.

Being a Unique Year-round robotics educatonal institution...

1) The Only Authorized LEGO MINDSTORMS Center in Eastern US.

2) A year-round robotics education institution.

We focus on robotics and technology education for age 8 & up throughout the year, not seasonal. This is run by staff who has accumulated a lot of robotics educational experience throughout the year, not just during school breaks.

3) Collaborative mini-contests or presentation.

Parents are invited to come in at the last day to observe a fun and friendly mini-contest or presentation.

4) Low and reasonable campers to instructor ratio.

For grade 6 and below, 6:1 campers to instructor ratio. Part of the tremendous value of Robotics for young students is teamwork. It is an un-effective method to have one person to work on his/her own. Most participants will work in a team of two. A lot of brainstorming, strategizing together, and sharing ideas.

For Grade 7+, students may not need to work in a team of two. This depends on their level of experience.

5) Sophisticated computer lab.

All computers are installed within an enterprise level of network configuration. Instructor can readily access all machines as all machines are setup within an intranet. Internet is only opened to students if required by the course.

6) Strengthen the appreciation of "Power of Knowledge".

7) Instill a flavor of competitiveness with emphasis on collaboration.

8) Unique Themes for each module.

All our workshops and camps are thematic. All themes surround real world application. Some are science-centric, some are more for bit humorous side.

Examples of our appealing themes: "Space expedition", "The Atoms Family", "NanoTech Mission", "Mission Ridiculous", "RoboDog vs. RoboMailman", "Revengue of RoboMailman", and many more.

9) No additional Lab fee.

10) Stress on true robotics experience.

We use robotics learning tools which provide TRUE robotics experience, not like other easily assembled kits. Read the evaluation in the value between LEGO Robotics learning tools vs. most others out in the market commonly used in other workshops. You will see the great value LEGO MINDSTORMS offers over most others for elementary and middle schoolers.

Only Authorized LEGO Mindstorms Center in Eastern US.

Being the Only Authorized LEGO Mindstorms Center in NJ, we are the only NJ Year-Round Robotics/Technology Education-centric facility listed by the NASA Robotics Alliance Projects. NASA Robotics Alliance Project provides abundant resource focusing on robotics education.

Fun Robotics Alley for both thinkers and builders

Theme-based, and Goal-oriented .

Our robocamp programs focus on hands-on challenging and creative Fun with robotics technology. Each module has its own theme in order to encourage children's imagination developed to meet a certain goal.

The key is to ensure all children not only have fun time active learning,

but also leave our program with a sense of accomplishment that they will be proud of.

Instill PRIDE in kids as they watch their robots put into actions by their own

programs. Kids absolutely LOVE the challenge of building these robots from scratch.

True Robotics Experience.

All programs involve hands-on experiments with exploring, designing, building from scratch, and programming for full automation. All programming is written on a PC and "transferred" to the MINDSTORMS robot. We the easy-to-use LEGO Mindstorms robotics component, but use a highly scalable programming software to accommodate various skill levels.

Ease-to-use for novice.

For the novice: Though the idea of programming robots may sound intimidating to some children, the LEGO MINDSTORMS system provides an easy and fun experience. The workshops offer a friendly teamwork-learning environment, and most children find it very intuitive within a short period of time.

Advanced Challenge for expert.

For the more advanced: We provide more complex, mind-challenging robotics activities which may require complex programming logic even for college level. Our programs include advanced level, which guarantees a bundle of technical challenges and fun for the more advanced kids. The challenges are virtually endless.

Exclusive Carpool list.

We have many children coming from more than 20 minutes away. A couple of them came as far as from the East PA, and Bronx, NY.

Per requests from multiple parents, we have established a carpool list exclusively for parents whose children currently or will attend Storming Robots.

Please visit our Carpool List Terms of Use Page.

Purchase Gift Certificates

Click here to purchase gift certificates.

Highly Qualified Staff

Instructors: either B.S. or M.S. Degree.
Our instructors possess minimum college level with stellar academic background. Some even possess Master Degree in Science. All adult staffs have passed criminal background check. There will always be staff onsite who has been CPR-certified.

Assistants: Stellar Academic Record.
All assistants are individuals who not only have stellar academic records, but also have experience in various robotics competitions. Our staff have passion in robotics. This is not merely their summer job, but their opportunity to inspire more children in pursuing science, engineering, and cool robotics in the future. Please read about some of our staff.

They all have gone through intensive technical training in using LEGO Robotics components, and the programming software.

Excellent feedback

From our anonymous feedback.

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Small Groups and Teamwork

Group size is limited to maximum of 12, with one instructor, and one to two technical assistant.

Part of the tremendous value of Robotics for young students is teamwork. Coroperative learning promotes higher order of thinking, communication skills, and other vital skills in future career development. Participants will work in a team of two. There will be most 2 students sharing one computer. A lot of brainstorming, strategizing together, and sharing ideas.

For Grade 6+, students may not work in a team of two. This depends on their level of experience.