Develop your coding and engineering skills as you explore technological design through creativity in the STEAM laboratory. Guided by the California Computer Science Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards’ Science and Engineering Practices, students will engage in a variety of practical projects each session in small groups.

First session:

• Learn or expand your skills using Tinkercad, a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) software used by engineers, architects, and product designers to draft three-dimensional objects from basic shapes. Become familiar with the 3D printing process and understand how digital designs are turned into physical parts layer by layer. Students will apply these techniques to design and 3D print a geometric-shaped rainforest animal. (Additional $60 lab fee included in registration)

• Use Sphero robots to explore how machines sense and adjust to their surroundings. Students program sensor-driven behaviors, control movement with code, and learn the input-output fundamentals that make all robots operate. Understanding how robots perceive and respond to their environment builds a conceptual framework relevant to everything from self-driving cars to smart home devices. These basic robotics principles—sensing, processing, and acting—mirror the same systems engineers use when designing real-world automated solutions.

• Explore the field of coding using MakeCode Arcade, Microsoft’s block-based game development platform that lets students create retro-style arcade games. Learn programming logic through hands-on game design, building sprite interactions, handling player input, and managing game states. By the end of the session, students will have developed a fully functional rain forest themed game which they can download to their handheld gaming device to share with friends and family.  Students can continue expanding their game design skills throughout the year and access other games on their device.  (Additional $60 equipment fee included in registration for Makecode compatible game console.

Second session:

• Design, build, and program your own robot using Hummingbird Robotics Kits—educational robotics kits that include LED lights, sensors, and servo motors. Apply core robotics principles of sensing, processing, and acting as you integrate multiple components into a single functioning system. Learning to coordinate inputs and outputs across hardware teaches the same systems thinking used in professional robotics and automation engineering. Students will construct a rainforest-themed robotic creation of their own design, take home their robot and kit, and continue building and experimenting throughout the year. (Additional $230 fee for kits included in registration)

• Venture on a journey into the field of coding using MakeCode Arcade, Microsoft’s block-based game development platform. Learn and expand fundamental programming concepts—loops, variables, conditionals, and event handling—while designing characters, developing game mechanics, and building immersive game worlds. By the end of the session, students will have developed a functional rain forest game to share with friends and family proudly. Students can continue expanding their game design skills throughout the year on a computer or game console. (Students who were not in session 1 p.m. tech class will have the option to purchase a Makecode compatible game console for $60.  Information will be sent home to families prior to the first week of session 2).