Maui student-created ‘robo-dog’ highlights $175K fundraiser for STEM programs

WAILEA (HawaiiNewsNow) – Robotics is more than a competition—for Hawaiʻi students, it’s a pathway to the future.

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“I kind of hope to be someone who builds technology like an inventor,” said Pukalani Elementary 4th grader Kenneth Kosaka.

“I love programming and building a robot. If I don’t get to be a pilot, I would like to be an engineer,” said Molokai Middle 8th grader Gabriel Gonzales.

Dozens of students from five elementary, intermediate and high schools across Maui County showcased their high-tech creations at the Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Ke Alahele Education Fund Benefit at the Wailea Beach Resort on Saturday.

Raising funds for future innovators

Nearly 400 supporters attended, raising roughly $175,000 for STEM programs across Maui County. Students and teachers—including several award-winning teams—showed exactly where those investments can lead.

“We’ve advanced from the Denver Regional and made it to Worlds. Funding enables us to go to all these events and helps build our robots because all the pieces for the robot costs a whole bunch of money. It’s really important for us to get that funding to stay competitive,” said Maui High School 12th grader Toby Naumov.

Kawika Gonzales is a fifth-grade teacher at Kaunakakai Elementary School on Molokaʻi and said that without MEDB’s help, the program wouldn’t be as advanced as it is now.

“MEDB has helped us since day one. They’ve supported us by getting the robots and the supplies we need so that we can do all of these different lessons and activities with our students,” said Gonzales. “Makahiki was birthed our of Molokai, so I thought, why don’t we have Makahiki robotics? Each lesson like Huki Huki or Tug of War talks about systems, data and force. I believe that if we give our students an opportunity, they will exceed all of our expectations.”

Real-world data gathering in Kihei

Maui High School students showed off their programmed robo-dog, which performed tricks for the crowd. While the stunts drew a lot of attention, the students are most proud of the machine’s real-world impact. Following the Kona Low floods, students sent the robo-dog into Kaʻonoʻulu Gulch in Kīhei, where it gathered data revealing severe erosion.

“We built a mechanism that can connect to the robot dog and it would drill into the ground and give us different soil samples,” said Maui High School senior Naiomi Ibera.

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Students shared what they discovered with government agencies working on erosion control in the area.

“We built the robot not only for the competition but to learn how to be an engineer. I want to be an environmental engineer,” said Ibera.

Addressing the local brain drain

Parents like Lorin Kosaka have seen the firsthand benefits of STEM programs on their children.

“I think it’s great for their creativity and problems solving. They are presented with a game and they have to figure out how to play the game. While a lot of the robots end up looking kind of similar, every once in awhile they’ll come up with something different that nobody has ever thought of and it’s really cool to see that,” said Kosaka. “The brain drain is a real thing. I think having this kind of foundation of skills in STEM, it’s really important for just the future our state.”

“Science, Engineering, Technology and Math skills are it’s so important for students and gives them a boost so they can be employable. Hopefully they can use these important skills and they can bring them back home and help make our island a better place,” said Janelle Tamayose, the STEMworks afterschool site coordinator for Pukalani Elementary School.

“It allows us to see the innovation of our young people. It shows them that there are no limit as far as what their creativity can develop,” said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen.

Through generous donors, MEDB has kept STEMworks programs in Hawaiʻi running for the past 27 years. Diversifying Hawaiʻi’s economy by building future innovators who can strengthen the state’s technology sector is a big part of MEDB’s overall goal.

“We have open jobs in STEM, in healthcare in technology, in innovation, engineering across our islands. So, these are the jobs that are right here at home and we really want to keep our homegrown talent here,” said MEDB President and CEO Leslie Wilkins.

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