Cubic has a strong civic and community commitment to improving lives through the innovative, cutting-edge technologies developed by our creative and passionate Cubes each day.
One way we demonstrate our passion and commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) is to contribute in significant ways to community events focused on these principles. Recently, I was lucky to contribute to the San Diego STEAM Maker Fest as a volunteer judge.
Cubic sponsors the event each year because it gives kids an opportunity to build, create and play without using their phones or tablets. Plus, it teaches them about teamwork, experimentation and how the different applications of STEAM are invaluable to the world. As a first-time participant, I was able to observe future scientists, mathematicians, artists, innovators and entrepreneurs tackle some tough problems in several STEAM domains.
The Adruino competition required students to build and code a robotic vehicle using a simple programing environment. They had to enter commands into an embedded device equipped with light sensors, light emitters, motors and a micro-computer. Afterward, they had to navigate the robotic device along a maze-like track using a laptop computer and a download cable, enabling instant results to the program they crafted.
It was interesting to see the determination and focus of the student teams. While some students were on the right track (no pun intended) and converged their solution through a myriad of attempts and incremental improvements that led to a successful finish, others did not understand the notion of control loops.
In all, this basic competition was super cool and taught students so many techie skills necessary in today’s competitive and fast paced STEAM related occupations.
Wow, where would I be today if I was exposed to these types of events when I was younger? My exposure to tech when I was a young student was pinball arcade machines and using drugstore tube testers with the glowing amber lights.
The second event was the Hydrobot Lift. It taught kids the physical challenges of using leavers, fulcrums, hydraulics, strings and pulleys to creatively lift a mass to the highest elevation possible. Once the team built their structure and alerted the Cubic volunteer judges of a success, we would observe the construct for thirty seconds of the sustained lift then measure the height in centimeters. The highest elevation was more than 60 centimeters!
Overall it was a fantastic event to see the spark of imagination fueling discovery, innovation, analysis, and execution all possible because of Cubic’s dedication to community enrichment and outreach.
I was told that if a child is introduced to STEAM/STEM between the ages of ten and fifteen, they tend to pursue engineering as a career than those who are not exposed. In this case, we have improved the exposure for a large group of motivated students who are now more likely to pursue STEAM.
Cubic’s volunteers and sponsorship made successful impressions that will hopefully encourage our future workforce to solve tomorrow’s engineering challenges, continuing Cubic’s legacy of improving the lives of our customers with market-leading, technology-driven innovations.
