From Cupertino Camp to Regional Robotics Champion: Maya's STEM4Kids Story

Bottom Line: A kid who built her first Lego robot at STEM4Kids' Cupertino camp is now leading her middle school's robotics team and competing regionally. This is what happens when children get hands-on STEM experience early — and it starts with one summer. Register at stem4kids.co/summercamp.

When Maya's parents first dropped her off at STEM4Kids' Cupertino camp on Stevens Creek Boulevard three summers ago, she was seven years old and had never touched a robotics kit. She was shy, a little nervous, and — by her own words — "mostly there because my friend was going." By the end of that first week, she didn't want to leave.

Today, Maya is ten, leads her school's robotics club in the Monta Vista area, and recently competed in a regional VEX IQ tournament alongside kids who've been building robots since they could walk. She held her own.

Her mom, Priya, put it simply: "STEM4Kids changed how she sees herself. She went from 'I'm not a math person' to 'I want to be an engineer.' That happened in one summer."

It Starts With One Small Win

What STEM4Kids does well — and what a lot of programs miss — is sequencing. Maya started with Junior Lego Robotics using Spike Essential, which is designed for kids ages 5½–9. The kits are colorful, tactile, and genuinely fun. The instructors guide kids through building, programming, and debugging their robots in a way that feels like play, not school.

But here's the key: the kids actually see their robots work. They write code, press run, and watch something happen. That feedback loop — try something, see a result, adjust — is what builds the "I can figure this out" muscle. And that muscle lasts.

By her second summer, Maya had moved up to Vex IQ Robotics and was staying late to redesign mechanisms that weren't working the way she wanted. The instructors let her. That kind of autonomy is rare at summer camps, and it's why STEM4Kids kids tend to come back.

A Community That Keeps Growing

What surprised Priya was the community effect. The families in the Cupertino and Evergreen San Jose area who put their kids through STEM4Kids often stay connected. Kids who met in camp form study groups. Parents share notes on competitions and enrichment programs. Maya's robotics team includes two kids she met in Rancho Rinconada the summer she turned eight.

The Silver Creek families who've been through the San Jose program tell similar stories. One dad described it as "the camp that actually stuck" — his son tried art camp, soccer camp, and coding apps, but STEM4Kids was the only place where his interest turned into a real hobby.

What This Means for Your Child

You don't need to know whether your child will become an engineer. Most won't — and that's fine. What STEM4Kids teaches is how to think through problems, work with a team, handle frustration, and celebrate small wins. Those are life skills wrapped in a robot.

Summer 2026 runs June 8 through August 12, Monday through Friday, 9am–3:30pm at both the Cupertino (Stevens Creek) and Evergreen San Jose locations. Weekly sessions start at $325, with multi-week discounts available.

If you've been on the fence, Maya's story is a pretty good answer to the question "is it worth it?"

Register at https://www.stem4kids.co/oncampus-summercamp-bayarea— spots fill fast in the South Bay.