Fun Bot Lab’s mission is to help create environments where kids can learn and grow with LEGO robotics across the world. We are currently executing a humanitarian mission to support a S.T.E.A.M. Lab in Kampala, Uganda, through the amazing missionary work of Kuyamba Ministries through the Wabukwa project.
Getting kids excited to learn with LEGO Robotics has been one of my life’s most extraordinary adventures. I was delighted to have worked with many great kids, dedicated educators, and involved parents in the seven summers running summer robotics camps. I have been honored to work for LEGO Education as an LEA educator. I am excited to see the evolution of Fun Bot Lab from a private company towards executing a humanitarian mission to support a S.T.E.A.M. Lab in Kampala, Uganda.
The History of Fun Bot Lab
Fun Bot Lab originated from a lesson pitch given by Tim Burns to the staff at Sidwell Friends school in the Spring of 2009. As a technology teacher in Washington, DC, Tim envisioned a LEGO robotics summer class that would place a premium on sparking high student engagement with unique LEGO challenges and games based on the building, programming, and modification of NXT robots. The pitch was successful, and with the help of his teaching partner Christopher Hague, Fun Bot Lab was born, running for two summers in the Summer program at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC.
In 2012, Tim moved operations to St. Luke School in McLean VA and established Fun Bot Lab as a separate summer camp business, opening its enrollment to kids in grades 1-8. With the invaluable help of Justine Khadduri, Fun Bot Lab obtained VDSS licensure, hired a professional site director, and experienced sold-out summer camp sessions. Fun Bot Lab would continue to run as a fully licensed camp with sold-out sessions for the next seven years.
In 2013 and 2014, Fun Bot Lab camps expanded their offerings to include digital media and athletics, including inflatable waterslides, and expanded outdoor activities to allow campers to enjoy a full summer camp experience. Helping the staff grow was always a priority; as the program expanded, Fun Bot Lab was able to mentor candidates getting undergraduate and master's degrees in education programs by establishing log hours for student practicums and writing letters of recommendation for former counselors looking to continue in the fields of education. Campers in the 9th and 10th grades returned year after year as aides and then stayed on to become Jr. and then full counselors.
From 2015 to 2019, Fun Bot Lab expanded to multiple locations in Annandale, Washington DC, and Arlington, VA, in addition to operating its core business in McLean, VA. At its peak summer season operation in 2018, Fun Bot Lab had over 450 students enrolled in multiple programs across the Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland region and conducted multiple after-school programs during the school year.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic ended Fun Bot Lab's summer camp business. Fun Bot Lab helped staff and install a STEAM Lab at St. Luke School as a quick pivot to meet its obligations that summer and ended all summer camp and after-school operations.
LEGO Robots and the future.
With operations suspended, Fun Bot Lab was able to connect and partner with Playwellafrica.com operated by Sequoia Slentz, and committed to a new mission to provide its vast inventory of LEGO robotics and teaching experience to underprivileged children in rural Uganda. Sequoia was a charismatic and effective leader shipping hundreds of pounds of LEGO and leading several trips to Uganda who tragically passed away in April of 2022. At his passing, Sequoia was working with Kuyamba Ministries, furthering the mission to bring LEGO to some of the poorest and underserved kids on earth. Fun Bot Lab is now directly partnering with Kuyamba Ministries in its Wabukwa Project - starting a LEGO STEAM school in Jinja, Uganda.
The future of Fun Bot Lab truly is one of hope and reaching out. It has transformed from a small summer camp to an international organization that provides education and a way for kids to use their imaginations to explore robotics and science. Fun Bot Lab continues its mission to create environments where kids can learn and grow with LEGO robotics worldwide.