<p>As far as the art goes, my kids have taken art class at school and also participated in the school’s art club, which is run by the art teacher. They do various projects and also usually do one large mural around the school each year. There is also filmmaking. One of the things my kids liked about the Scratch programming system is that it’s quite easy to incorporate your own artwork into short videos or games. </p>
<p>They also participated in a local art program which is selective admission by portfolio. Whether or not you have such a program available, I actually thought the process of putting together the portfolio was just as valuable as the camp itself. They were required to submit different types of artwork (eg still life, portrait, landscape) in a variety of media. So they needed to try some things they hadn’t done before.</p>
<p>Does it have to be an organized program? Those are fine, but can’t she also just tinker with stuff at home? Can you show her how to use tools, look at youtube videos together, have her draw up a list of needed materials for a project, shop for them together, etc?</p>
<p>Frankly, if college applications are your goal, I think something other than school clubs would be far more eye-catching. But maybe she just doesn’t have that level of interest or that drive. That’s okay. But she might discover it if she weren’t funneled into yet another adult-organized activity.</p>
<p>BTW, numerous town rec programs around here offer things like watercolor lessons for very modest fees in the evening. Mostly adults, but perhaps a kid could do it.</p>
<p>See if your area has a maker space or hacker space in your area open to the community. She would get lots of free mentoring and no need to buy the equipment.</p>
<p>Garage sales are a good source of old robotics kits, though, if you find a Lego kit, you may need either an old Windows 95 computer or have to hack it into a Linux platform. </p>
<p>Legos and robots are fine - but math is what’s gonna be the base to work in STEM fields for her future. Spend some time googling “fun with math” like themes - I think it will pay off for her. I have 2 STEM kids that loved Legos as kids - not robotics so much, but both got into Engineering because of math skills. I know you said she doesn’t like math, but that could be of bad teaching in the past. And, even in my D’s case, there was a JR HIGH teacher bias against my D in taking advanced math - because she was a girl. So don’t give up, make it fun, and good luck.</p>
<p>Does your town have a club for retirees? Do you have a neighbor who builds stuff (either recreationally or professionally?) Do you have a family member who is handy (tiled a bathroom, installed hardwood floors, that kind of thing?)</p>
<p>Sometimes its the simple solutions that get the job done. See if you can get your D a “buddy” (obviously after doing some checking) who can introduce her to more sophisticated construction and tinkering techniques. </p>
<p>I have a neighbor who has a 3D printer and he’s the most popular guy in town. A bunch of kids who liked robots but hated math have done a 180- he’s taught them some programming, gotten them to see that there is life after percentages. They now see that “all of life is one giant word problem” (his motto, not mine).</p>
<p>I would encourage your D (and you) to keep an open mind about the bigger school. Definitely worth a visit, and definitely worth having your D sit in on a couple of clubs/activities to check the pulse.</p>
<p>Is it just robotics that she is interested in or is she also interested in electronics in general? My DS who is going to be in 8th grade is also interest in that kind of stuff. He is not is a group but one thing he did was buy a book " Make: Electronics by Charles Platt. I’m sure there are other books out there too. While he hasn’t done all the projects he did learn quite a bit from the book. </p>