Approximately 30 local students from the Santa Clarita Valley went to the Boys and Girls Club Newhall location on Saturday morning to reconfigure toy cars for toddlers with cerebral disorders, who are often affected by their body’s mobility, to enjoy.
X-Bots Robotics was founded in 2015 as a community-based team in Santa Fe Springs, due to the lack of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in the area, said Elisa Avila, the executive director.
“We started the team to incentivize the students and the teams to impact their community in STEM education, [when] one of our students came across the Go, Baby Go program,” Avila added.
The Go, Baby Go, program under the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, provides modified toy cars to children with mobility challenges so they can play and socialize easier, according to the organization’s website.
Over the years, the program has expanded beyond the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier, a place that housed the X-Bots Robotics team, said Avila, to a national program where students can explore something new and ignite inspiration to possibly pursue STEM or other related careers in the future.
The work is both beneficial to the students who help modify the toy cars, and to the toddlers who will use them, making it a rewarding experience overall, she added.
“There’s a need for hands-on experience in STEM … students can reconfigure a car to serve as a therapeutic car for a toddler that might not have limbs, has mobility limitations, or might not have upper body strength,” Avila said.
Some of the modifications students made were: reconfiguring the electrical wires so the toddler could make it run through a large button on the steering wheel instead of a foot pedal, a support system with a harness to ensure the toddler could sit upright when enjoying the car, and an emergency safety button for parents to easily press on if needed.
Hart High School Senior Daylyn McCarty was taking the lead throughout multiple stations and assisted students when needed since she was more familiar with the procedure
“I love kids, I love working with kids … that’s what really got me into the program,” McCarty said. “When kids with disabilities come, it makes the parents feel welcome and [connected] with their community. They don’t feel separated, and [be with others] in the community without feeling different. They look excited to be here and that’s what really matters to me.”
Castaic Middle School eighth graders Brian Flanagan and AJ Rodriguez were mounting a toggle switch to power the toy car. As they used their critical thinking skills to overcome each small challenge with the modifications, they found the experience fun.
“Normally we don’t get to do this type of stuff without a lot of help and modifying these cars lets the children have fun without all that help, and it makes them feel more independent,” Flanagan said.
Toward the end of the long morning workshop, students were able to personally present the toy cars to the recipients and connect with the families it would benefit.
