Young Watsonville Engineers Dive Into Robotics at the YMCA
The sun was shining right outside the gym. You could see children munching on their lunch and chatting with anticipation, wondering what they were about to do next. Over at the YMCA campus on the afternoon of November 10, outside the bustling parking lot, twenty elementary and middle school students were already buzzing with anticipation. Tables were piled high with PVC pipes, wires, circuit boards, and mysterious-looking motors. At the center of it all stood nine high school students—X Academy’s own BerryBotics underwater robotics team—ready to guide the younger campers through four hours of engineering adventure.
For many of the campers, this was their first time building anything that would end up underwater, let alone something remotely controlled. But that was exactly the magic of Science Camp: a space where curiosity met creativity, and where students were encouraged to dream up a creative design for their own underwater ROV.
The BerryBotics mentors broke the ice quickly. Each high school mentor led a small team of three campers, turning the parking lot into a bustling workshop of laughter, questions, and problem-solving. Students learned that an underwater ROV is far more than a floating toy—it’s an engineering challenge that pulls together physics, electronics, and design.
X Academy provided each group with a kit: three propeller thrusters wired to a circuit board, a remote control pre-programmed to steer each motor, and piles of PVC pipes waiting to become the skeleton of a submersible machine. As teams clipped pipes together and experimented with different frame designs, they discovered the importance of center of mass. A robot too heavy in the front would nosedive; too light, and it would flip like a pancake. And then came the challenge of buoyancy—how do you keep your ROV from sinking like a rock or floating like a runaway balloon?
By the time the robots hit the water, the campers had learned more than they expected in just a matter of four hours! Imagine how much they are able to learn if they had more time. These elementary and middle schoolers learned that engineering takes trial and error, teamwork matters, and perseverance is as essential as any tool in the kit.
The mission was simple—collect as many colorful plastic ring toys scattered across the pool as possible—but executing it required clever thinking. Students crafted hooks, scoops, and even improvised claws from spare PVC parts. Cheers erupted every time an ROV successfully snagged a ring and steered it back to the team.
For the YMCA, this wasn’t just about robotics—it was about empowerment. Shante Corona, YMCA Development Director, shared the heart behind the camp:
“Our purpose is to equip the youth in our community with interests that will carry them into the future, providing a solid foundation and skills they can utilize in this rapidly changing world. We don't want our youth to be left behind!”
By five o’clock, the pool was quiet again, but the excitement lingered. Students walked away with new skills, new confidence, and—for some—the spark of a new passion. And for the BerryBotics mentors, the joy of teaching and inspiring younger students who were once in their shoes was just as rewarding as getting to build through trial and error their own ROVs.
In just four hours, the YMCA Science Camp proved that when young people are handed tools, support, and the freedom to explore, they don’t just learn—they build, they innovate, and they dive headfirst into futures full of possibility.
