YMCA of the Foothills will soon roll out Dawson’s Mobile Garage, a van with a plan
In 2015, YMCA of the Foothills unveiled a workspace at its Crescenta-Cañada facility called the Garage. A place where children could cultivate their interests in science and technology as they learned and built projects together, the concept quickly took off.
Now, Y officials hope to take that winning concept to the streets by launching the Dawson Mobile Garage — a truck that will bring engineering, robotics and rocketry projects to kids in area schools and beyond.
Earlier this month, representatives of the local facility gave members of the La Cañada Flintridge City Council a sneak peek at the package truck that’s being retrofitted to accommodate a number of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects.
The plan is to reach out to kids who may not typically engage in team-building activities like sports, connect them with mentors and help them build skills through play and experimentation, explained Thom Martin, vice president of Youth Development for the Y.
“When you look at this you see something that’s bright and shiny, something that has gadgets all over the place,” Martin told council members at the May 9 demonstration. “But we look at it and see an opportunity to take the 1,800 kids that we’ve had a chance to touch in the last year and impact their lives.”
The van is expected to be completed in July, but the Y is already in talks with La Cañada Unified elementary schools about creating after-school activities for students there, says Troy Emi, leader of Youth Development.
Once finished, the Mobile Garage will be able to launch rockets, communicate with a drone and serve up a number of hands-on projects, like egg drop experiments and VEX robotics competitions.
“This is part of an effort to reach all youths and, going beyond that, reaching out to kids who may not like sports,” Emi said. “They’re able to forget about everything and have fun. At the same time we’re taking that spark within them and connecting them with a caring adult.”
La Cañada High School seniors Geoffrey Fierro and Russell Dea are writing the lesson plans that will underlie Dawson Mobile Garage’s projects and experiments. The STEM-minded 18-year-olds said they’re happy to mentor young kids who share their same interests.
“It really lets them get involved at a younger age,” Fierro said of the Y’s Garage program. “I personally would have loved to have something like this at that age.”
Dea said students who may be a bit more introverted can benefit from working together on shared goals and learn the same important skills — collaboration, leadership and working through failure — others may find in clubs and athletics.
YMCA of the Foothills chief executive Tyler Wright approached the City Council last June, asking for $30,000 to outfit and equip the Mobile Garage. Council members agreed to put $20,000 toward the effort, while Y board member and a former JPL assistant laboratory director Kirk Dawson also made a contribution, according to Emi, becoming its namesake.
Mayor Mike Davitt said he was pleased to support Dawson’s Mobile Garage and its mission.
“[It’s] a great opportunity to bring an interactive learning experience to our community schools and to individuals who otherwise might not be able to participate in these programs,” he said. “Focusing on science, technology and math will help our young citizens excel in not only learning, but in life lessons as well.”
Twitter: @SaraCardine
