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When McDonogh’s robotics team, Electric Slide, hosted a pumpkin chuckin' booth at the annual Honey of a JamFest in October, they were not just sharing the fun of physics; they were also introducing the community to the School’s robust robotics program. Throughout the afternoon event, the team taught students of all ages how to craft popsicle stick catapults to see how far they could fling candy pumpkins.

The next month, the Electric Slide team held the first of two Fun with STEM Saturdays at the Owings Mills branch of the Baltimore County Public Library, where they guided elementary school kids through four hands-on activities: paper helicopters, hoop gliders, catapults, and egg protectors for a plastic egg drop. “It was great to see so many kids interested in our STEM activities and to see the smiles on their faces after they’ve completed one of our projects,” says Team Captain Chandler Julianelle ’26, noting that more than 40 children attended their second event in January.

McDonogh parent and team mentor Vivian Pao adds that while the young attendees discovered the science behind each challenge, the events were an opportunity for McDonogh’s team to introduce families to FIRST, the world's leading youth robotics community.

First, a Little About FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has a mission that extends beyond science and technology. It is to give young people the skills, confidence, and resilience to build a better world through friendly sportsmanship, respect for others' contributions, teamwork, learning, and community involvement–values that align with McDonogh's vision of "doing good." McDonogh participates in three robotics leagues organized by FIRST:

• FIRST LEGO League (FLL), the youngest group, is geared toward fourth to eighth graders and inspires critical thinking, core values, coding, design, and building skills through hands-on STEM learning.
• The next level, FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for students in grades eight to twelve, teaches them to think like engineers as they design, build, and code robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams.
• FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), comprised of Upper School students only, combines the excitement of sports with the rigor of science and technology. FRC mentor and Upper School

Physics teacher Eric Conn puts it simply: "The youngest kids work with LEGOs, as they get older, they build with what looks like Erector sets, and lastly they build the big robots with materials like lumber and scrap aluminum."

Each year, FIRST presents the three groups with a different challenge that requires the teams to design, build, test, and code robots to accomplish specific tasks based on a theme. McDonogh's coaches, who prefer the term mentors, "advise, teach, and guide, but the kids do all of the work," explains FTC mentor and parent Jason Rapalski.

Building Robots and Community
While the mission of Electric Slide, McDonogh’s FTC team, is to build a robot for competition, building community has become equally important. Caleb Gray ’27, the team’s portfolio lead, says, “My favorite thing about robotics is being able to see my efforts have a visible impact on the team and the community.” He adds, “I've not only helped the team earn awards at competitions, but I've also been able to help kids discover the excitement of STEM.”

His teammate, Chandler, adds, “Although many would question why a robotics team is doing outreach when they could be using that time to actually build their robot, we strive to live by the values of FIRST and one of the mottos of McDonogh: ‘we give something more than we take.’ While we could spend more time building the robot, it's a great feeling to spend time helping and improving the community around us.” Building on the Fun with STEM days, the Electric Slide team approached Bridges McDonogh with a request to conduct a hands-on workshop on flight and gravity for the 36 Baltimore City elementary students enrolled in the program. Together, they used drinking straws and paper to build hoop gliders to illustrate STEM concepts and demonstrate the engineering design process.

Pao says she knew the outreach initiative was making a difference when a student in the Bridges program asked for extra straws and paper to show their brother how it works at home. She adds that she loves watching the FTC team and young kids really get into the lessons. "They're talking about the engineering design process, the physics, and how to make small tweaks to adjust the outcome," she says.

Team Electric Slide's mentorship skills have also been on display "in-house." Many FTC members, who are FLL alumni, enjoy popping into FLL practices to see the LEGO creations and offer advice. In December, they provided volunteer support at a day-long McDonogh FLL tournament.

Rapalski says he is proud of what the students are accomplishing. "Most of the kids joined the FTC team to build a robot, and that is what excites them. So it is really impressive to see them put the extra time, energy, and attention into the community outreach. Some of the best things to come out of this season are from the connections the team has made in the community.”

Pao echoes his sentiment and adds, "These kids love working on the robots, and for many of them, public speaking and communicating their love of robotics and STEM is not easy. Yet, they have jumped in and are so excited to share their enthusiasm for science and physics with kids and their parents at every one of these events.”

Chandler illustrates her point, saying, “This is my fourth year being a part of FIRST, and I feel like I have grown into a more outgoing person. As my coaches could tell you, in my freshman year, I was a very quiet person, but now, I am a lot more talkative and lead both the team and our outreach objectives.” He continues, “Being part of FIRST has taught me that robotics doesn't have to be just about robotics; it is also strengthening your connections with others and building up the community around you.”

Pao agrees, saying, “They've really committed to paying it forward and encouraging the same love and wonder of science that someone sparked in them."

By sharing their passion for STEM with younger students and the broader community, these student-leaders are living McDonogh’s mission and demonstrating that personal and intellectual growth flourish when paired with a commitment to doing the greatest possible amount of good.