BY JACKIE GUTIERREZ-JONES
42
“ Hold on , let me show you something ,”
says Dr . Maria Elena Cruz . A small sphere encased in clear plastic comes into view , revealing whirring gears , sensors and a glowing LED matrix inside . “ This was the inspiration behind our summer program .”
In early 2021 , Cruz stumbled upon Nucleus Robotics ’ Sphero BOLT Coding Robot . The Sphero BOLT is a robotic ball that can be programmed using codes developed through drawings , Scratch blocks ( puzzle-piece shapes used to create code ) or by writing JavaScript text with Sphero Edu , an application that teaches users how to code the Sphero robot . That was when the idea for a summer robotics program at Oxnard blossomed .
PHOTOS BY ILANA PANICH-LINSMAN