LYNNFIELD — It’s one thing to have passion; it’s an entirely different thing to put it into action at the next level.
That’s what rising Lynnfield High seniors Gavin Fair and Colin McCormick and Governor’s Academy rising senior Sid Gaolkar are doing. The trio’s FMG Robotics Foundation held its first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fair Saturday on the Town Common.
A crew of student volunteers manned several booths featuring biology, chemistry, and computer science displays, demonstrations, and speakers, all geared toward spreading the boys’ love of computers and robotics with Lynnfield’s youth.
“We have been running computer camps this summer at SOFA (Lynnfield Community Schools’ Summer of Fun Activities) and thought why not plan a fair that will introduce kids to computer science,” McCormick said. “Young kids really aren’t being exposed to things like robotics and computer science. Today, we had a great opportunity to offer them that chance.”
The hit of the day no doubt was Spot, the robotic dog, who put on an impressive display. On loan from Devin Billings, assistant director of research and development at Boston Dynamics, the dog is capable of climbing stairs, jumping, opening and closing doors, and even dancing. Saturday, he spent most of the day roaming the common and interacting with kids.
“At first, the kids were a little freaked out, but then they came around and thought he was really cool,” said McCormick. “They’re used to real dogs, so that’s boring, but Spot is different and was getting the kids really excited and interested. Technology in a classroom setting can be frightening, but this is a fun way of exposing kids to science and tech without them really knowing it. All they know is they are having fun.”
Another popular activity was the “whoosh” bottle. The rim of an oversized water bottle was lined with isopropyl alcohol. A lighted match ignited the alcohol, forming a small burst of flame and a loud whoosh-like pop.
“It was really cool, the kids really loved it,” McCormick continued.
“We had to keep moving into the shade to keep the computers from blacking out, but overall, I thought today was really successful and everything went well,” said Fair. “I was very surprised by the turnout. We were never really swamped with people, they just were spread out all day so everybody was able to have a hands-on experience, which is what we wanted. Schools give young kids the tools for the boring stuff, but not the fun stuff so it’s great that we get to share the cool stuff with the kids. All of us are kids at heart.”
Gaolkar said the turnout was more than he expected.
“It was great, much better than I thought,” said Gaolkar. “The people running the booths and the kids looked like they were having fun and that’s what I cared about.”
Gaolkar had visual proof of how much fun he had — he ended the day with blue-stained hands.
“It was just a little bit of a chemistry demonstration with methylamine blue, it’s just a dye,” he joked. “Today was all about getting hands-on experience, so I guess my hands are proof of that.”
Erika Kelly, whose 9-year-old son Nathan will be a fourth grader at the Huckleberry Hill School in the fall, said the town needs events like this. Unfortunately, she stopped by as the fair was shutting down an hour early due to dwindling attendance caused by the oppressive heat.
“I’m sorry I missed this, this is just what we need,” she said. “My son would be totally interested in this but Lynnfield doesn’t have anything like this, so this was a great opportunity to introduce young kids to science and technology.”
McCormick reassured Kelly that the schools are starting to introduce kids to computer science at younger ages.
“One of the new classrooms at Huckleberry will be a STEM class and the teachers have been totally supportive,” said McCormick, a self-described lifelong nerd who teaches computer science at the Torigian YMCA. “There are plans for after-school classes at the elementary schools. We three have been friends since middle school so I’m guessing we will be there all the time. It’s all about just giving kids exposure with fun stuff and you tell kids that they can do this for a job, and it just takes off.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].