The Beatty Robotics Team, which consists of Camille, age 13, Genevieve, age 11, and their father Robert, built a Mars Rover robot for the Mars exhibit at NYSCI. The girls, who are interested in STEM education, did most of the work on the robot.
Robert, Camille, and Genevieve Beatty built this Mars Rover for NYSCI’s Mars exhibit.
At the Summer of Stars: Astronomy event on Aug. 10 from 12-4pm at the New York Hall of Science, the roboticists behind the new, high-tech Mars-style Rover robot, Robert Beatty and his daughters Camille, age 13, and Genevieve, age 11, from Asheville, NC, will formally introduce their creation at the museum’s updated Mars exhibit.
The Mars Rover, officially installed at NYSCI on June 8, consists of more than 700 parts, many of which the Beatty Robotics team made by hand or machine. The father and daughters were able to equip their robot with a six-wheeled suspension, solar panels, an infrared camera, a thermal sensor, sonar sensors, and other advanced technology. Camille and Genevieve did much of the work and assembly on the project themselves and were part of the installation and testing procedures at the museum. The kid-friendly exhibit allows visitors to drive the Rover through the Mars landscape on a mission to uncover infrared-emitting rocks that may provide clues to signs of life on Mars long ago.
The update to the Mars exhibit at NYSCI will show young visitors that anyone can build a robot, even kids just like them, and maybe even inspire them to become interested in STEM fields themselves.
