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ARTICLE. From Jennifer Dill, HMB Robotics founding parent for October 2024.
What a difference a year makes! In the fall of 2023, the Pumpkin Bots, a Coastside FIRST robotics team, had zero students and were told they were no longer allowed to be a club at HMBHS. However, thanks to the support of the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside and some very stubborn mentors, the Coastside now has two community based robotics teams: the Pumpkin Bots (high school) and Coastside Circuits (middle school). We do not plan to stop here! Our goal in the next two years is to add a robotics team that works with Legos for our elementary school students as well.
Half Moon Bay Robotics, the parent organization for the Pumpkin Bots and Coastside Circuits, is modeling itself after John Parson’s Coastside Basketball. Our philosophy is that the earlier a student is exposed to STEM (science, technology, Engineering, and Math), the more successful that student will be in those subjects. We believe that the earlier a student has exposure to robotics, the less intimidated they are and the more open they are to believing that robotics is something “for them”. 90% of our students have had no prior experience in robotics and by the end of their first season with us, they are proficient in areas such as: hardware, design, wiring, software, CAD (computer aided design), leadership, public speaking, and more.
As all of you know, the Coastside is a special place. While we are technologically behind many over the hill (there are teams that have been around for 20+ years), we do have something most of them do not: folks who invest in community. Our two robotics teams have five mentors each, which, as we are learning, is rare. We feel so lucky to live amongst folks who value dedicating their time and resources to enriching our students. We are grateful to the BGCC for taking a chance on us. We are also grateful for Bryan Bodas of Bodas Construction who has let the Pumpkin Bots use his shop. Because of the support of our community, our Coastside students now have the opportunity to explore STEM in a way that did not exist five years ago.
If you are interested in learning more or would like to support robotics here on the coast, visit our website.
We would love to hear from you!
And that’s not all!!!
The Pumpkin Bots won first place at the Capitol City Classic in an alliance of four out of fifty one teams! Ours is on the right…we had three students, the smallest team at the competition.
More on Pumpkin Bots and HMB Robotics on Coastside Buzz
Support the Boys and the Girls Club at the Reach for the Stars 2024 Fundraiser on Friday, November 22nd, 2024, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Author: Coastside Buzz
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