At Hammond High School on Thursday, members of the school's robotics team demonstrated the operation of their homemade 100-pound contraption — a machine that maneuvered through the school library picking up balls as a video of a recent robotics competition was shown on a screen.
Many students who stopped by to watch the exhibit said they didn't know the school even had a robotics team.
Several others, though, asked about joining the club for its coming season — fulfilling one of the goals of Thursday's activities.
The Hammond display was part of the school's participation in the Hour of Code, an international effort promoted by Code.org to get students interested in computer science.
This past week, all Howard County public schools participated in the Hour of Code, introducing activities to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
"This activity introduces students to an area of computer science that can spark a new interest and offers potential for entrepreneurial development," Superintendent Renee Foose said in a statement.
"The program also gives our teachers training and expertise that will not only benefit instruction, but will enhance student learning through practical application," she said.
The school system's Curriculum and Instructional Technology offices have worked with teachers at each school to provide students with the opportunity to flex their computer science skills for at least one hour during the week. Many schools hosted daily activities.
In the classroom, students and teachers discussed why Hour of Code was worthwhile, learned coding vocabulary and conducted online activities through Code.org, which offers programming lessons for students.
At Laurel Woods Elementary School, students participated in coding activities in their math classes throughout the week. Principal Susan Brown said the focus was a "greater hit than anticipated."
Brown, whose daughter is a fourth-grader at the school, believes some of the enthusiasm shown by students was an expression of their comfort level working with computers. They were excited to learn they can program devices they use on a daily basis.
"To take the fear out of technology means that in the future, as things continue to evolve, our kids will be there. They'll be ready," she said.
Brown said staff at Laurel Woods plans to incorporate more programming activities in lessons throughout the year.
"We really want longevity with this," she said.