Travis Ranch robotics team advances to regional competition and earns award following qualifier competition

Travis Ranch School is home to a robotics program that competes in the First Lego League, which introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16 through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics program. Participants are encouraged to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills through hands-on STEM learning and robotics. Travis Ranch has been working diligently all year to prepare to compete against 679,000 other participants from 110 countries this fall.

The program at Travis Ranch School is sponsored by the REACH Foundation and led by the STEM IT UP Club at Yorba Linda High School. Coaching and mentorship is provided by Gisele Nguyen, REACH Foundation VP Academics, Eddie Tabata, Assistant Principal, Nayana Gupta, Parent Coach, and Mr. Greg Walls, YLHS STEM IT UP Club Advisor.

Following an impressive performance, the robotics team of 5th-grade students from Travis Ranch advanced to the regional competition! Out of over 400 teams in the Southern California region, only 200 of the teams advanced. The team’s robot score of 215 points was among the top 25% of all teams in the region. The Trailblazers even left with the All-Star Rising Award, which is given to the most promising rookie team at the qualifier competition! Overall, the team had a great season and they are now preparing for regionals, which will be on December 4 in San Diego.

“I am so glad to have been able to start this robotics initiative for younger students in PYLUSD and to have gotten tremendous support from YLHS students in STEM IT UP,” YLHS student and STEM IT UP Club member Nikita Gupta shared.