ROCKY HILL, Conn. — Paras Patani, a robotics engineer turned educator and entrepreneur is taking his love of Lego to the classrooms.
Patani, who appeared in season two of “Lego Masters” on FOX, runs the educational non-profit called NextGen SmartyPants in Canton and teaches his Lego skills to school kids across the area.
Lego just donated $15,000 to Patani’s program, which is helping him spread his love of Lego and STEM learning.
“Our goal is to really give kids a way to really learn math skills they’ve learned in school in a fun, engaging way,” Patani said.
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Patani’s classes are largely are held during after-school programs but during a recent morning at the CREC Aerospace and Engineering Elementary School in Rocky Hill, Patani was working on a Lego miniature race car project with third, fourth, and fifth graders.
“You can see how engaged they are, and they learn quickly,” said Patani. “They are doing engineering, they’re doing robotics, they are coding.”
Working on her miniature sized Lego race car, fifth grader Maddie Howe said, “it teaches engineering and it’s very fun and it kind of brings grades together.”
“The real A-ha moment is when a kid’s eyes light up and they get it – you can’t buy that,” Patani added.
To learn more about NextGen SmartyPants and Patani’s programs click here.
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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