DOUGLAS n Sixteen kids just finished spending a week of their summer on the moon.

Not literally, of course, but they've been charged with a mission from central command at Converse Area New Development Organization's Robotz in Outer Space summer camp.

During the week, they landed on Planet H-99, using Lego-like building blocks, microchips, RCX motors and their brains to construct a robot that can accomplish six mini-missions on the lunar-like landscape. And they did it all armed with their trusty computers, complete with software that allows them to develop a step-by-step program which is beamed to their robots with infra-red lasers. No remote-controls for these kids.

And now back to earth. Each four-person team spent most of the week building, programming, testing, and dreaming big, judged by Mayor Jim Schneider. Each team earned points for completing six missions laid out on a broad table hosting a lunar landscape. It's pretty simple in design, with small volcanic cones and crumpled paper serving as lava rocks, but the robots work the field. An anonymous donor has offered $10 to each member of the team with the most points.

Each team appointed a captain, a programmer, a builder and a communicator. The leader gets the brunt of the desk work, developing a PowerPoint presentation on his team's trek through space, their challenges and high points, and must deliver an oral presentation with the slides to parents and others Friday afternoon.

"I tell them, if you're going to be the boss, you've got to learn to do paperwork," CANDO's Education and Outreach Manager , Linda Wolfe, grinned.

Spenzer Jackson, 11, has served as programmer and communicator in past years, and acted as the team leader, a position he takes seriously. His was a special challenge, with only three team members instead of four n and one with a broken leg. And, the team discovered that one of its robot motors turned out weaker than the others, sending the robot off course. That's something else they will need to compensate for on the computer. But even on Day Three, his PowerPoint was well underway and he was busy bringing the rest of the team together.

"I like how it kind of puts your mind to the test," Jackson said, breaking from a programming review with a teammate. "The reason I come back every single year is because I want to try something new every year."

Kids race eagerly from the computer lab to the lunar room after a programming session, anxious to see if they've mastered each step. Using math and engineering skills, they instructed each of the robot's three motors just how hard to run, for how many seconds, and in which direction to accomplish the tasks at hand. Programming all three motors to run concurrently leads to a straight-away; setting only one motor to run for a few seconds can bring the robot into a directional turn.

The Lego-type creations have to clear the moon base of rocks, place a sensor in a dark cave, transport a methane detector to a given location and rescue a stranded moon rat, among other things. Imaginations run wild and enthusiasm is high.

The summer camp, which just completed its third year, gives repeat customers and newcomers alike the chance to practice engineering, math and science skills, and, perhaps most importantly, leadership, communication and teamwork, Wolfe said.

Team captains get leadership training and must bring the other players together in a concerted effort, Wolfe explained. "We try to help build the knowledge of how to work well with other people," she said.

Wolfe participated lively discussions with the students about robots and the role the increasingly sophisticated machines play in our lives. They delved into the history of robotics, hash through the myriad sci-fi flicks and consider a planet Earth someday rules by robots.

"Will we need to work later in our lives?" Wolfe queried. "Someone will need to maintain those robots, at least until they do that themselves. We just play with those ideas. There is always going to be a job for someone with the math and science skills to maintain robots."

The camp is funded through a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program Community Planning Initiative grant and by the Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant Program administered through the school district.