At Waldo International School, six incredible students – three 6th graders and three 7th graders – were handpicked to represent their school at the Hudson County STEM Showcase, held at the iconic Liberty Science Center. It was the perfect stage to spotlight the amazing talents of these young innovators as they took on the exciting world of coding and robotics using Arduino and C++. And boy, did they deliver— the results were nothing short of impressive!
One project was Flash and Whack, a modern twist on the classic Whack-a-Mole game. But instead of traditional moles, these students used LED buttons that lit up randomly, challenging players to “whack” the button by pressing it before the light disappeared. Each successful hit earned a point! The game was housed in a sleek 3D-printed enclosure, perfectly designed to hold all the components: four LED buttons, a buzzer for fun sound effects, a reset button, and two clocks—one to track the score and the other to keep time with a timer. This hands-on project combined creative design with coding smarts, and the students had an absolute blast testing and fine-tuning their creation.
The second project was Track Mate, a mini robot programmed to recognize faces! This clever little robot was designed to be stationed outside the school during pickup time. When a parent arrived, the robot would scan their face and send a notification to the front desk, letting staff know who was there to pick up the child. It was a fantastic example of how technology can solve real- world problems. The students did an amazing job programming the robot to recognize faces, demonstrating both their technical skill and creativity.
These projects truly showcased the students problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and boundless imagination. It was so exciting to see their hard work on display at the STEM Showcase, where they shared their cutting-edge ideas with the larger community. With such impressive talent, it’s clear that some of these young innovators might just be the tech geniuses of tomorrow!
