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Burning Gear Robotics, a nonprofit organization in Menlo Park, aims to make STEM education more accessible and engaging for youth in the Bay Area. Since 2020, the robotics organization has mentored and taught over 100 students from elementary through high school.
The organization was founded by Lixia Liao, a Menlo Park parent and former researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey. When her son was 4 years old, she noticed that the STEM programs in Menlo Park public schools were underdeveloped while sports programs were seeing 10 times more enrollment.
With a background in civil engineering, Liao led a two-person robotics team with her son and his friend when they were in elementary school. When others saw the projects that Liao’s son was creating, more people began to show interest and Liao’s small team grew into what is now Burning Gear Robotics.
In just its second year, that team qualified for both the state championship and national U.S. Open Robotics Tournament. The organization has expanded to teach youth about engineering across San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
“We’re trying to make robotics fun and creative, so they can shape their future with their own hands,” said Liao. “That’s how we can empower the community with robotics.”
Burning Gear Robotics encourages mentorship and sharing knowledge to the community. Liao explained that experienced high school and middle school students who learn from the program go on to teach younger participants. When students are not preparing for competitions, they hold workshops at libraries and parks, organize community fundraisers and introductory events.
“If you reach your hand and turn around in a circle, then what you can reach is only you. But each time your hand touches another person, you’ll have tons of them do the same thing to make a chain reaction,” Liao said.
Her passion for robotics grew alongside her son’s growing interest in STEM. In order to teach others, Liao spent two years learning about coding and mechanical engineering through a private tutor to be able to teach others. She also received additional help from parents who work at Nvidia, Meta and Google.
Recently, Burning Gear Robotics formed a partnership with Zeffy, a free fundraising platform which allows every dollar collected to directly benefit the organization. With the help of Zeffy, Liao said every $1,000 raised will go toward increasing student access to a robotics team or to fund a new team with equipment.
The organization is trying to save as much money as possible by using public spaces for its robotics classes. The robotics teams often meet in libraries, school classrooms after school hours and coffee shops.
In April, Burning Gear Robotics led a week-long robotics camp with a dance school in Belmont, exposing young girls to the idea that they can build robots. Most of these dancers did not have any prior STEM experience, said Liao.
As the organization continues to grow, students will expand their interests toward starting their own robotics teams and Liao supports this. She explained that Burning Gear Robotics is determined to create new opportunities and encourage young aspiring engineers to explore STEM.
For more information on Burning Gear Robotics workshops and classes visit burning-gear-robotics.org. For information on Zeffy visit zeffy.com.
