If we want our kids to dream big, we have to show them how, right?” says Kay Fukuda. In just a matter of months, a group of Leeward Coast elementary students went from total beginners to obsessed competitors in the complex world of team robotics. When the competitive season ended, the kids didn’t want to stop. They begged for more tournaments and scrimmages just so they could keep their skills up.

Fukuda saw what was happening, how kids who barely spoke up in class were now standing in front of a row of judges to discuss their team’s project; how students were using their recess time to huddle together and discuss science strategy and engineering challenges. Inspired by the kids’ dedication and moved by the way building robots was also building the children, Fukuda took bold action. She contacted the director of the Junior Invention Challenge camp, a five-day robotics intensive at the LegoLeague national headquarters in Manchester, N.H. She asked if the Waianae students might be considered for the program and got an enthusiastic response.

“They have never had kids from Hawaii attend,” Fukuda said.

Most of the kids in the Wai­anae PALS program have never been to the East Coast before. Many have never been on a plane. Some had never been to the Blaisdell Arena until the big statewide robotics competition.

The plan is to bring 12 students to the camp in July. The students are being chosen through a selection process that includes an application and interview, something Fukuda sees as good practice for future college and career interviews.

PALS (Program for Afterschool Literacy Support) is made up of students from Waianae Elementary, Kamaile Academy and Nanaikapono Elementary and is administered out of the University of Hawaii SEED (Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity) program. Though this is the first year for their robotics teams, PALS has been operating in Waianae elementary schools since 2007, providing academic enrichment opportunities to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders.

The trip will cost $2,400 per student. PALS opened an account with UH Foundation so all donations are tax-deductible. Though the fund-raising goal is significant, the students have already taken on bigger challenges. One of the students summed it up perfectly:  “Hard times are the fun times in robotics,” said 12-year-old Waianae Elementary sixth-grader Dianne Samera. “We didn’t know how to measure how long our robot has to travel. We made mistakes. We kept trying until we got it. When we got through it, it was fun.”