STAR Robotics is an opportunity to help young minds grow.  This event, held at St. Joseph Academy, permits sixth-grade students from local Catholic schools to meet with robotics and engineering students from both St. Edward and St. Joseph.  

The moderators are Mr. Matt Falk and Ms. Mary Ellen Scott from St. Edward and Mr. David Weiss of St. Joseph Academy. However, the high school students assume much of the responsibility, which makes Mr. Falk very proud. “It is almost entirely student run,” he said, “and the teachers only help to plan the program.”  He later added that the program was beneficial to both the high school and elementary students, “The program helps teach high school students through teaching. The older students actually learn by teaching the younger ones.”

The sixth graders learn many simple engineering concepts, including basic mechanics, flow, iteration, statements in structure, and action and reaction sensors in motion outputs.  Although these concepts may seem alien to some, they are vital to the understanding of programming and robotics.

There is also a competition among the sixth graders for which they create their own soccer-playing robots.  These robots need to kick and defend goals. Although this is both a very rewarding and an enjoyable activity, the most important aspect of this experience is the relationship developed between the high schoolers and their younger counterparts.