The new and returning members of the Del Mar Robotics Club, BlenderBots, start this school year learning about the importance of STEM and teamwork.
The robotics club is learning and practicing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the construction of a robot for the first competition of this school year.
“I joined robotics because my cousin was in it, and I wanted to check it out. I stayed with it for three years, because I feel like it’s a fun and competitive environment,” junior Adrian Cortinas said.
The robotics club competes in a league called “FIRST Tech Challenge,” where each year there is a new STEM-related task to complete for students in grades 7-12. This year’s competition task, “DECODE,” is to shoot Wiffle balls called artifacts into big goals to score points.
Maggie Rabasca is the club’s faculty advisor and a math teacher at Del Mar. She has an interest in STEM, and was an electrical engineer.
“This year, they have worked really hard to design a robot that everybody could be a part of building,” said Ms. Rabasca.
She said she always wanted to join a robotics club at her high school, but there was not enough funding. The robotics club faces a similar issue.
BlenderBots does not receive any funding from Del Mar; the school does provide a room for the club to use. This means that it is the robotics club’s job to raise all the money they need. They hold fundraisers and email companies for grants.
“We’ve been meeting almost every day of the week, on weekends too, and just improving [our robot] and any modifications, and getting inspiration from other teams,”Cortinas said.
Joshua Judson and Aurora Stevens, who are new members of the club, say the environment of the club is very positive and productive. Since the club is student-run, members do their own part while simultaneously helping and collaborating with others. The club has 30 members, which is an increase from the previous years.
“And then I also wanted to join because we need more women in STEM and on the team,” Stevens said, “Actually, less than a fifth of the team are girls.”
The club is always trying to encourage more people to join STEM and robotics clubs. They do lots of community outreach, from hosting competitions to going to Monroe Middle School every year to recruit incoming freshmen.
“It definitely worked last year because we had a lot of freshmen that showed up for the robotics team,” Rabasca said.
The robotics club is not just about programming or technology, but it is also about each member’s commitment to learning STEM and building community within the team and in Del Mar.
