The BB-R8ERS, the school’s robotics club, has undertaken the task of teaching robotics and STEM.  With help from the Blast Off Brigade, alongside community partnerships with nonprofits including Gibson-Bethel Community Center, and in addition to the Boys and Girls Club. 

“The goal of this collaboration is to open up opportunities in STEM for under-resourced students and teach them robotics,” Founder of Blast off Brigade sophomore Logan Garcia, said. 

These outreach programs set up weekly events—like at Ponce De Leon middle school—where BB-R8ERS members teach coding and robot manufacturing to young members of the respective school’s robotics club. 

“Being able to help teach younger kids a subject I’ve loved learning in high school is a blessing,” senior president  Joseph Buttrick said. 

Similarly to what they accomplish at Ponce De Leon middle school, every Thursday at the Boys and Girls Club, the BB-R8ERS teach 75 kids—through the help of volunteers from the robotics program—the basics of Robotics. 

Along with Robotics, the team also teaches STEM, which is a core part of robotics, which the team also teaches at Gibson-Bethel Community Center. Through hands-on activities and labs, BB-R8ERS introduces students to fundamental engineering and physics courses and workloads. 

“We aim to make STEM exciting and accessible for all students,” Garcia said. 

Alongside these programs, the team is still working on robotics and their competition work. According to Buttrick, the team’s goal is to win the First Robotics Competition—an international competition that includes teams from all over the world. The competition changes the game every year, with this year being an underwater-themed contest. 

“I believe that the best way to learn is by teaching, so I use the lessons I teach to the kids to help lead my team and myself to learn more and faster,” Buttrick said.