An NSWC employees works with children at recent Youth Summit.

The Navy land and underwater robots attracted hundreds of students to an interactive display at the Patriots 11th Annual Youth Summit on Technology that showcased careers in science and engineering at Largo High School.

“We want your brain,” said Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Commander Vice Adm. Paul Sullivan during his keynote address. ‘‘We want you to get through high school, get through college and come work for us.“

Students listened as Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) personnel explained how math and science is applied to create technology for the Navy of today and tomorrow.

Sullivan encouraged them to consider creating technology for the Navy.

‘‘You will need math, you will need science to do it,” said the admiral. ‘‘It will get hard, but you have to stick it out.”

Patriots Technology Training Center (PTTC) – a non-profit organization dedicated to helping minority students cross the ‘‘digital divide” to careers in technology-related fields – has partnered with the Navy to stimulate students’ interest in math and science via workshops, competitions and field trips.

‘‘It is important to provide encouragement and stimulation to our young people regarding the field of science,” said Jane Bachman, a NSWC Dahlgren Advanced Concepts and Payloads engineer – one of over a dozen NSWC volunteers. ‘‘Providing a working environment experience where students can sense the why, what and how things are done through interaction with scientists can benefit them when making their future career decisions.”

The students – from Washington, D.C., and Maryland schools – joined public, private and government officials to participate in workshops, a computer building competition and a jeopardy-style bio-medical game show.

Parent’s also participated in workshops to prepare for the impacts of school selection, financing, forms prep and other useful tools for successful college entrance.

The Navy volunteers – from NSWC Dahlgren, Carderock, and Indian Head Divisions and the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division – set up the interactive underwater and land robot display and hosted workshops on robotics and rockets.

With studies showing the number of students interested in learning science and technology continuously decreasing throughout middle school and into high school, the event was part of an effort to retain students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields through programs that educate and motivate.

‘‘Our role has been to leverage our tremendous workforce to assist in providing key science, math and engineering support to the diverse population of Prince Georges County, Md., middle and high school children and interest them in pursuing higher education in these fields,” said Jerry LaCamera, Acting NAVSEA Warfare Center Executive for Aviation Systems.

‘‘It makes sense to reach out to our community and work with Patriots to excite kids about science and technology,” added Marc Magdinec, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Warfare Center Executive for Surface Warfare. ‘‘They are a home grown organization and we are likely to benefit when the students are ready to choose a career.”

The Navy and PTTC are engaging Prince George’s County students in a myriad of activities this year ranging from job shadowing at the Warfare Center sites to robotics competitions, computer building, web design, bio-technology and the annual five-week summer camp on technology.