HOLYOKE, Mass  - Holyoke Community College is hosting a youth robotics program during their "STEM Week" for children between the ages of 12-16. 

Participants have been able to work with "ROOTbots" along with iPads to learn how to use scratch code to allow them to maneuver the hardware. They are also working with a robotics kit that is designed to help them build a small tracked vehicle, which is programmed with a similar code but at a more advanced level.

Marketing team member Paul McCrohan said it's very important to teach children about STEM because there are many opportunities to use those skills in the workforce.

"You got Roomba's on your floor that help clean up your house, that's all coding too," McCrohan said. "They use scratch coding, the same kind of coding in the background where it says, 'if I hit this wall, turn around and find the next point to go to.' So when they're drawing all the scratch coding, it's all if-then statements, so anywhere you see robots, AI, all of that is coding and intelligence."

The program is being run by the Massachusetts Army National Guard. McCrohan said the National Guard travels to schools all over the state teaching youth about different opportunities in STEM, whether it be in physical therapy or video game trailers.