Phototropic BristleBot activity for robotics and STEM engagement

Engagement and retention of students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines is a challenging and important task. In this paper we discuss a robotics based engagement activity called `BristleBot' which has been used widely to engage, educate and connect with students in the middle-secondary school age bracket. The activity was evaluated based on survey results from students who completed the activity, highlighting both their engagement and technical understanding of the elements within the activity. The BristleBot activity was shown to have very high levels of engagement (94% either `Agreed' or `Strongly Agreed' they enjoyed the activity), showed reasonable levels of technical retention and showed large numbers of students were more interested in studying in STEM related disciplines as a result.