PORTLAND — Maine Robotics is now offering a new, week-long, summer program called Build Your Own Computer Camp, which will be offered on the University of Southern Maine campus in Portland and also at the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor.

This brand new program will work with students, ages 12-16, who want to learn about how a computer is put together, configured and learn about basic troubleshooting tasks. Each student will be using surplus PC components, but will be building a very capable Dell Optiplex desktop computer, including LCD screen, and will be taking the entire computer home at the end of the week. Each computer will end up with the Linux operating system or students can bring in their own copy of Windows to install on the computers.

The week in Portland is being offered from July 21-25, and in Bangor from Aug. 4-8. Both camps will be led by Tom Bickford, who has 35 years of experience working with computers of all types and 30 years as an instructor. Maine Robotics has been running summer academic programs since 2004, and will have more than 500 campers at its robotic camps this summer. This new BYOCC is the first new program in several years and will bring the number of camps offered this summer in Maine to 35.

For more information, visit the Maine Robotics Camp page at camps.mainerobotics.org and click the BYOCC or Build Your Own Computer Camp button.