ROBOTICS & TURKEY 2025 YOUTH ROBOTICS CONFERENCE FEATURES 4 SPEAKERS!
Robert D. Jones
Hand & Mind LLC
handmindenrichment@gmail.com
203-550-3051 mobile
ROBOTICS & TURKEY 2025 YOUTH ROBOTICS CONFERENCE FEATURES 4 SPEAKERS!
Third annual international conference broadens the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) talent pipeline by engaging children aged 9-14 yrs. old, particularly girls and children of color.
Mt. Vernon, New York November 15, 2025
The 3rd annual Robotics & Turkey Conference (R&t) returns Thanksgiving weekend—Thursday, November 27 to Saturday, November 29, 2025—at the all-inclusive Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny, Jamaica. The resort sustained only minimal impact from Hurricane Melissa last month and fully reopened on November 7. R&t supports selected Hurricane Melissa recovery projects.
Featured in Forbes and endorsed by the Dean of Admissions at MIT, R&t blends robotics, research, and cultural exploration. This year’s theme mirrors the 2025–26 FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) robotics season: “UNEARTHED: Explore the artifacts of the past to uncover clues about how we live, learn, and celebrate.”
The opening speaker, Dr. Lesley-Gail Atkinson Swaby, archaeologist and lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, brings over 20 years of experience in Caribbean archaeology and cultural heritage. She is also author of Boianani: A Taíno Girl’s First Adventure and director of the Kulcha Konnection Summer Camp (2018–2023). Joining her is Evelyn Thompson, former head conservator at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, with three decades of expertise in preservation and education. Together, they will lead a hands-on field trip to Seville Heritage Park, home to Taíno, Spanish, and British colonial sites.
Tony Reid of NYC-based Drone Cadets LLC will virtually deliver a video presentation on “Eyes in the Sky: How Drone Technology is Revolutionizing Archaeological Discovery.” This year’s program also spotlights Alexander Lowe, an 11th-grade student at Saunders Trades & Technical High School in Yonkers, NY. A former FLL participant and member of his high school’s FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team, Alexander will present his summer research on “Vision-Guided Autonomous Navigation for Robots Using AprilTags and PhotonVision” conducted under the mentorship of an MIT Computer Science PhD student.
Alexander Lowe
R&t hosts FLL robotics team delegations from Jamaica and the United States (primary, prep, elementary, and middle schools), including winners of Jamaica’s 2025 FLL Championship and finalists from New York City’s 2025 FLL Championship. Each delegation typically consists of a student, parent, and coach. There are over 45,000 FLL teams worldwide.
Launched in 2023, R&t continues to foster global STEM engagement through competition, collaboration, and cultural immersion. Its companion initiative, the Boston-area College Tour (BCT)—introduced in 2025—offers high school students curated tours of MIT, Harvard, and other selective universities, helping them explore academic and career pathways in STEM.
For more information, registration, or to join the R&t mailing list, visit www.roboticsturkey.org.
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