During the summer of 2024, Mr. Q and Ms. Calista had the incredible opportunity to attend a robotics course at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, where they were challenged to design and create a robot that could walk in sand. The experience was both exciting and inspiring—it combined engineering, coding, and problem-solving in a way that truly brought learning to life.
The goal was to take what they learned and develop a computer science curriculum for elementary and middle school students to complete the same challenge. With the support of Professor Feifei Qian and her team, they built lessons that helped students think like real engineers—testing prototypes, coding movement patterns, and analyzing how their designs handled different terrains.
Last year, our 6th-grade class became the first group to pilot this program, and their success was nothing short of amazing. The students showed creativity, perseverance, and teamwork as they designed robots capable of navigating sand, just like what they had at USC. Their results were so impressive that our school is now being recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at their annual Principal Investigators (PI) Meeting! At the meeting, Professor Qian will present our students’ work, share how Crestview students contributed to the research, and acknowledge the incredible progress we’ve made together. She even noted that some of our students’ work was on par with, or even better than, her current Ph.D. students’ designs!
This year, our current 6th-grade class is continuing the momentum by taking on the same challenge—designing a robot that can walk in sand—using LEGO Spike kits. These kits give students hands-on experience with mechanical design and coding while encouraging them to experiment and problem-solve. As their skills grow, we hope to advance to Arduino-based robotics, introducing them to more complex coding, electronics, and sensors to take their engineering skills to the next level.
We’re so proud of our students for embracing the challenge and showing that innovation and curiosity can start early. This recognition is a testament to what young minds can accomplish when they’re given the tools, encouragement, and opportunity to explore STEM in meaningful ways.