After an incredibly successful rookie season, finishing in the top half of their First Tech Challenge (FTC) league and winning multiple awards, the Coronado High School Robotics Team kicked off the new school year by hosting its first annual Future Innovators STEM fair on October 6.
CHS Robotics Team Founder and Coach, Roberta Lenert, said “Outreach and connection in our community is one of our priorities this year. We were able to connect with a lot of people last year, partnering with CMS, our mayor, the Navy, and our amazing sponsors, but we want to expand our reach this year. Exposing more students and children to robotics and STEM is our goal.” Maya Rodriguez and Salma Ali came up with the idea for the Future Innovators STEM event, combining their interest in civic engagement with their passion for robotics. Maya and Salma developed a plan, gained approval from Coronado Unified School District and organized sponsorship and booths for the event. Maya said, “We had this idea as a way to solve a problem we saw in the community. We wanted to raise awareness within the community of the various STEM pathways available. I remember the when I was in elementary school the only STEM opportunity I had was robotics and I wanted to make sure kids knew of this opportunity and had the chance to find mentors in STEM.”
Maya worked closely with the vendors who hosted booths during the fair and said, “Our vendors loved it, there was a constant flow of kids that came in all day. Dr. Perry from the USD engineering school and Pete Waydo from NASA JPL really enjoyed the interactions they had students who were really fascinated by their booths.”
In an effort to leverage the foot traffic from the Coronado Public Safety Open House, CHS Robotics worked with the Coronado Fire Department to hold the STEM Fair in conjunction with the Public Safety Open House. The STEM Fair offered residents the opportunity to learn about various STEM opportunities offered by Coronado Unified School District and brought in vendors to inspire young people interested in STEM. The STEM Fair included booths from CHS Stop the Sewage Club, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, USD Engineering, Coronado Middle School Robotics, Coronado High School Robotics, Coronado NJROTC, Grace Dabbieri with Braille Bracelets, and the American Heart Association. The majority of the booths were manned by CHS robotics team students, coaches and friends of the program.
Woody Smith, Chace Smith, and Reed Karosich. They are displaying their team competition drone and SeaPerch underwater drone. SeaPerch is a STEM-based program that teaches students how to build remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and compete in underwater robotics.
Interactive booths were a highlight for patrons. Ashley Fabrey and Madeline Ruddick hosted a table with a Plinko board. Lucky winners walked away with prizes that were made by CHS robotics on their 3D printers.
CHS Robotics continues to grow as they raise awareness of the dynamic program that saw so much success in their first year. This year CHS robotics added a new team they named ‘CocoNuts and Bolts’ to join ‘Tiki Tech’ in the FTC competitions. They are very focused on engineering and coding, but also have opportunities in various fields from business operations and design to public relations. The skills the kids are learning in robotics go well beyond STEM and into life skills that will help them navigate college applications and beyond. Coach Roberta said “I am so proud of this team, they are motivated, detail-oriented and always coming up with new ideas on ways to improve our program. I am so thankful for our incredible sponsors, Coronado Schools Foundation, DoDEA, Amazon, Qualcomm, NASA JPL and Dr. Mullins, they make this possible”
