A robotics workshop for students in grades 5-8 will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, at Mathews Memorial Library.

Sponsored by Mathews 4-H, the class will involve each student building and programming an autonomous robotics vehicle he or she will be able to keep.

The cost for the workshop is $40. Mentors will be on hand to assist the students, but a parent must be present in order for the child to participate. Students should bring their own lunch. There are 12 slots for participants.

Workshop instructor Ken Childress said that students will “learn a lot from the workshop to get started.” Childress had a 30-year career in electronics before retiring to Mathews. He said he decided to become involved in teaching a workshop when a friend suggested he visit a trailer at Mathews High School that contained equipment left over from the Mathews Robotics Club. The club won state competitions in the past but has not been active since 2019.

“I was like a kid in a cand...