Primary school students showcase coding talents at Hamster Bot Exhibition
In an interactive learning program aimed at nurturing young minds towards innovation and technological skills, more than 60 primary students from Class IV to VI participated in the Hamster Bot Coding Exhibition held at Loselling MSS in Thimphu. This marked the first coding exhibition organized specifically for primary-level students.
The exhibition held on April 6 provided a platform for young enthusiasts to apply their coding skills while fostering curiosity, imagination and a lifelong passion for learning and innovation. Students enthusiastically showcased their creative ideas through presentations and exhibitions featuring activities such as line tracing, pattern drawing, dancing, maze games and ball collection games, making the event both engaging and exciting.
This initiative reflects the Ministry’s commitment to enhancing robotic coding capacity among teachers and students across the country through collaborative efforts with external agencies. The Korean e-Learning Improvement Cooperation (KLIC) program played a vital role as a partner providing a sufficient number of physical robotic coding kits from Korea and conducting virtual training sessions for teachers. These invaluable resources were subsequently distributed to schools enabling students to explore and learn coding concepts firsthand.
In preparation for the exhibition, four participating schools including Dechencholing HSS, Zilukha MSS, Changangkha MSS and Loselling MSS embarked on a month-long practice. It was guided by the ICT teachers who underwent online training from KLIC between February 26 to 28. The training helped them to program Hamsterbot, a mini robot designed to foster coding, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These trained teachers then imparted their newfound skills to students in their respective schools.
Following the success of the inaugural exhibition, the Ministry plans to expand the event to other Dzongkhags to provide equal opportunities for young minds to showcase creativity and innovation and have passion for STEM subjects.
With an anticipated increase in the number of participants, the initiative aims to further bolster Bhutan’s education system by integrating coding and robotics education at the primary level.