Robots Invade Palm Beach Gardens Middle School-FPL Unveils Robotics Facility, Solar Array At H.L. Watkins Middle To Provide Critical Hands-On STEM Education
Cutting-edge Mindstorm and Vex robots will take H.L. Watkins Middle School by storm as FPL, together with School District of Palm Beach County officials, unveil the first state-of-the-art robotics facility in the County, along with a solar array and learning station. The new science facility provides needed resources to ramp up STEM education for the County’s students, helping prepare them for the highly-skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics jobs of the future. FPL is one of Florida’s largest employers in these fields.
The new robotics equipment represents a major revamp of the school’s existing resources. H.L. Watkins will be the only middle school in the county with this level of sophistication in robotics equipment and software.
In addition to the robotics center, H.L. Watkins’ Next Generation Solar Education Station features solar panels similar to those operating at FPL’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Arcadia, Fla. The school array will provide students a hands-on tool to learn about renewable energy.
WHO: School District of Palm Beach County Superintendent Mr. Wayne Gent, FPL energy experts, H.L. Watkins students, H.L. Watkins administrators, and lead robotics teacher Cory Perry working with students to demonstrate the new equipment.
WHEN: Oct. 3, 2012
9:45 a.m.
WHERE: H.L. Watkins Middle School
9480 MacArthur Blvd.
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Media must check in at front office to gain entrance to school property.
VISUALS: School children manipulating new state-of-the-art robotics equipment and software; students experimenting with solar panels to learn how they convert the sun’s power into electricity; County school officials touring the new facilities.
Interviews with school officials, teachers and FPL representatives are available.
CONTACT: Julia Wakefield, rbb Public Relations (305) 445-9750
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest rate-regulated electric utility in Florida and serves the third largest number of customers of any electric utility in the United States. FPL serves approximately 4.6 million customer accounts and is a leading Florida employer with approximately 10,000 employees as of year-end 2011. During the five year period ended December 31, 2011, the company delivered the best service reliability among Florida investor-owned utilities, while its typical residential customer bills, based on data available in December 2011, are about 25 percent below the national average. A clean energy leader, FPL has one of the lowest emissions profiles and one of the leading energy efficiency programs among utilities nationwide. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). For more information, visit www.FPL.com.
