GALLATIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of dollars are pouring into Sumner County Schools to support robotics education for middle and elementary school students.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, donated $28,000 to the school district to purchase robots. The robots will help introduce students to the concepts of programming and hopefully spark an interest in some students that will lead to them pursuing careers in STEM.
"We are extremely thankful for Meta's partnership and interest in exposing students to STEM and IT activities," said Del Phillips said, director of Sumner County Schools. "Robotics is an amazing way to spark a lifelong interest in STEM. We’ve worked really hard to develop programs that allow students to have fun and be challenged. We appreciate our community partners like Meta that help accelerate this focus."
Thanks to the donation, every middle school in Sumner County is getting two VEX robots as well as the parts students will need to enter into competitions. Meta also bought several kits for elementary schools.
The company announced in 2020 plans to build an $800 million data center in Gallatin. Construction is expected to continue until 2023.
