Members and coaches of the CUSD Robotics Teams hosted interactive activities at the Coronado Safety Open House held on October 5. The Robotics booths, which included Lego building, robot demonstrations, hands-on opportunities, and 3D printing were a creative way to connect children with the excitement of STEM. Photo courtesy of CUSD
The second Annual STEM Fair, hosted by Coronado High School and Coronado Middle School Robotics teams was a resounding success. The fair was held in collaboration with the annual Coronado Public Safety Open House on October 5 and brought together students, educators, and community partners in an exciting and interactive celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math.
Led by CHS student coordinators Anika Talavera and Sean Wilbur, under the direction of Coronado Unified School District Director of Robotics Roberta Lenert, the event featured interactive opportunities for younger children and showcased the growing impact of STEM outreach.
“Participation at the fair for the second year was made possible by the strong partnership with the Coronado Fire Department, including Chief Brian Standing, who has always shown strong support for our students and programs,” shared Lenert.
Robotics Captain and CHS senior Sean Wilbur echoed Lenert’s appreciation for the Fire Department, “The Community STEM Fair was a huge success in large part thanks to support from all facets of our Coronado community. Anika and I are incredibly thankful for the CUSD staff and Coronado FD staff who worked with us to put our students into the community spotlight. Our goal for this year’s fair was to make it bigger and better than last year, which meant working with more students, more clubs, and all around bringing more fun to the community.”
Coronado’s Fire Chief Standing welcomed the Robotics Club’s second year participating in the 31st annual event, which is cohosted by CFD and Coronado Police Department. He shared that the event is “an excellent opportunity for collaboration and for the community to see firsthand the innovative projects and challenges being tackled by Coronado’s future engineers and problem-solvers.”
Photo courtesy CUSD
The activity booths hosted by CMS and CHS Robotics drew enthusiastic crowds, and reached an impressive 4,216 people.
“Outreach is an important component of the awards system for the CHS Robotics teams and this event marked significant progress toward the prestigious FTC Inspire Award,” said Lenert. “It is also a reflection of the dedication and creativity of the student teams.”
Beyond robotics, the event featured contributions from a diverse array of CHS STEM-focused groups, including the Architecture Club, NJROTC Islander Company, Society of Women Engineers (SWE Next), and Stop the Sewage Club.
From hands-on demonstrations to meaningful conversations, the fair deepened connections and highlighted the importance of STEM education in shaping future leaders.
“An especially fun element of the event was getting to combine our various passions towards a single goal: connecting with Coronado at large. I had an amazing time synthesizing my role as Robotics Captain and Stop The Sewage Managing Director, and we had many robotics team members like Anika who were able to connect their passion for robotics with their hard work in our Island Company ROTC unit,” said Wilbur.
Coronado Robotics programs are supported by the Coronado Schools Foundation and Department of Defense Activity (DODEA) grants.