MOON TWP, Allegheny County - Children in grades six through 10 who want to learn the insides and outsides of robotics can participate in the Manufacturing Immersion Residential and Day Camps being held this month at Robert Morris University.

The camp for beginners will be held from July 11 to 14 and is for middle-school aged children. High school students are invited to a camp for them July 14 to 17.

The camps are sponsored by the PRIME Initiative, a partnership of educators and manufacturers which promotes the manufacturing industry in Western Pennsylvania.

There is no fee for the camp, but a $50 deposit is required. The deposit will be refunded when the child checks in during registration.

Demonstrations being offered during the camps include:

Robot construction using Lego Mindstorm kits.

CNC programming using Mastercam software.

Basic Stamps for high school students.

Mobile Robots for middle school students.

Tours of manufacturing plants also will be conducted to show participants what manufacturing environments are like and how high-tech they've become.

Evenings will consist of trips to the RMU Island Sports Center, Gateway Clipper Cruise and Cosmic Bowling.

Students who participate in the camp will be given overnight accommodations at the university.

Similar camps will be held in August as well.

Information on the camps is posted on the PRIME Web site at www.primepa.org.

For information or to register, call Jennifer Parsons at 412-262-8214 or email her at parsons@rmu.edu.

Interested parties also may call Bessie Jeffries at Butler County Community College, which is partnered with PRIME. Her number is 724-287-8711. Her e-mail is bessie.jeffries@bc3.edu.