Photo By Jhon Parsons | From left: Santa Paula High School (SPHS) seniors Soren Coke and Steven Sebastien...... read more read more
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Students in the Santa Paula High School (SPHS) Robotics Club will learn the intricacies of assembling desktop 3D printers as well as how to troubleshoot issues with them, thanks to an Office of Naval Research (ONR) grant that paid for the printers and associated materials.
Ramon Flores, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) coordinator at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD), submitted the ONR grant application to fund five Prusa MK4 3D printers and filaments for SPHS, at a total cost of $6,400. The grant was awarded in late September, and the printers were delivered to the school on Nov. 9.
The 3D printer effort was a collaboration between Flores and SPHS Math Teacher Gloria Rodriguez, who is also one of the two Robotics Club advisers. Rodriguez explained that club members previously focused on regional robotics competitions, such as For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics, but this year she wanted something that would give students a marketable skill set that could translate into future job opportunities.
She said a dozen or so students will learn to assemble the printers, create computer-assisted designs (CAD) using Onshape — a free browser-based CAD platform for students and educators — print their designs and also learn to repair the printers, as needed.
NSWC PHD, one of the tenant commands onboard Naval Base Ventura County in Oxnard, entered into an Educational Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Santa Paula Unified School District (SPUSD) in July 2022, and this new equipment is one of the many positive outcomes of that EPA, said SPUSD School Board President Daniel Sandoval, who was on hand for the Nov. 9 delivery of the printers to the school.
“The base is the largest employer of STEM-related fields in the county; for us, it’s a natural partnership,” he said.
While attending a local high school in 1989, Sandoval and some of his fellow students were given an opportunity to tour one of the Navy base’s installations. He recalls seeing an engineer etching microchips during the tour. That inspired him to eventually study engineering in college, he explained.
“A lot of high school students don’t really know what job opportunities there are for them in STEM careers,” Sandoval said. “We want to raise that awareness for them and get them exposed to possibilities.”
SPHS Principal David Keys and Assistant Principals Daniel Guzman, Betsey Chavez and Nancy Nasr also were present when the printers arrived in Rodriguez’s classroom and watched as students opened a box to examine the printer components.
“This is really fantastic for the school and we’re grateful for the partnership with NSWC PHD,” Keys said. “These will build a bridge to helping kids who want to use this technology.”
He said the school has a few 3D printers on campus, but the school’s engineering program uses them.
“These new printers will serve the after-school Robotics Club primarily, but while they are here, they will be a resource for our engineering students as well,” Keys said.
Toward the end of the school year, Robotics Club members will nominate five fifth- and sixth-grade teachers from their former elementary schools in the SPUSD to receive the 3D printers. The teachers who are selected will then attend a workshop, taught by the Robotics Club students, on how to use the printers, before they are turned over to the teachers at the end of the school year.
The high school students will serve as an on-call repair team if the teachers run into issues, Flores said.
“The project entails building technology skills in both high school and elementary school students, while also providing high school students a sense of ownership,” Flores said. “The long-term goal would be to develop a student base that could then support a makerspace in the Santa Paula community.”
NSWC PHD’s STEM program also will cover the cost of a workforce member to mentor the club. Mechanical Engineer Josefina Cruz, a 2015 graduate of Santa Paula High School, has agreed to serve in that position. She previously served as a FIRST Robotics mentor for the club.
Cruz said she is excited to be able to give back to the high school that helped her on the road to her engineering career.
“I am proud and humbled being able to help out students at my old high school and in the community that I was raised in,” she said. “It was always one of my goals to come back and support since I graduated high school.”
The Robotics Club will meet after school every other Thursday beginning Nov. 16. Flores expects to receive additional ONR grants in the future to purchase more 3D printers for the club, benefiting SPHS students as well as the district’s elementary schools.
“As this budget is ongoing, I anticipate being able to support this project for multiple years,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2023 17:18 |
| Story ID: | 457837 |
| Location: | SANTA PAULA, CA, US |
| Hometown: | SANTA PAULA, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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