During this 3-hour STEAM program, 3rd graders go through 7 stages to design a robot that understands and responds to human emotions. The project builds emotional awareness as kids learn to identify feelings in others and choose kind ways to respond. The journey begins with an emotion circle and scenario discussions to develop empathy and social awareness. Working in small groups helps students practice empathy and cooperative problem-solving while tackling social challenges together. In the Planning the Robot Response stage, students use IF-THEN logic to code caring responses, which builds both empathy and emotional awareness, regulation and communication.  Next, teams build and pilot where the focus is on demonstrating how the robot reacts empathetically to the emotion. The program ends with presentations and a reflection circle to improve communication and self-regulation skills.

Brief description of the STEAM program

This STEAM program helps students reflect on a real-world issue: “Can a machine be a good friend?” or “What does it take to support someone emotionally?” By imagining and designing a robot that reacts to human emotions, students connect abstract coding concepts with real-life social needs. The challenge here is designing a technological solution to a problem they face every day: “how to recognize emotions in others and respond kindly”.

Age group/ Grade	Student numbers	Duration	Number of stages	Subject(s)
3rd-grade students	Whole class (max. 30 students) in groups of 4-5 students	minimum 180 minutes	7 stages	digital culture, language, and literacy/communication, emotional vocabulary, art