A robotic vehicle constructed from gray, blue, and black LEGO pieces with wires, sensors, and gears, featuring a white license plate with the number 93446B.

HANDS-ON SCIENCE

OPPORTUNITIES

This is an actual competition robot our team built named “Colossus”

Families in the North County of SLO have been looking for opportunities to enrich STEM education for their children.

Central Coast STEM Academy offers memorable experiences that can trigger a love for science in the next generation.

Learn more

REGISTRATION FULL - SIGN UP FOR PRIORITY WAITLIST -

REGISTRATION FULL - SIGN UP FOR PRIORITY WAITLIST -

A group of children and adults gathered around a robotics project on a table, with a girl working on a robot in the center. The table has a grid pattern and colorful cone-shaped pieces.

Robotics Competitive Team

Why Join?

  • Small teams: design, build, program, compete.

  • Fun: builds, test drives, fixes, pizza, silly dances.

  • Skills: mechanics, coding, electronics, teamwork, project management

  • Supportive, inclusive coaches

Who It’s For?

  • Grades 5- 8: tinkerers, tech fans, team players (no experience needed)

What To Expect?

  • Weekly build nights + optional weekend workshops

  • Hands-on projects → competition-ready robots

  • Mentor roles: drive, code, chassis, strategy

  • End-of-season demo and regionals

How To Join?

  • Limited spots - apply early

Join a tight-knit crew building robots, skills, and memories
Sign up to secure your spot

MORE INFO HERE
Person holding a booklet titled 'JDS' with a cosmic design, sitting on a chair with their lap visible, dressed in a beige hoodie and blue jeans.

Astrometry Field Research

Learn how scientists measure objects in the night sky.

This course will train students to use robotic telescopes to collect images of understudied double stars. Upon completion of this course, students will be published researchers. This is an advanced-level class that will meet many times to train students how to be better scientists. We will develop technical writing skills and collaborate on a research paper. Upon completion of this course, students will be published researchers.

Colorful game cover for '20 Dungeons & Robots' featuring two young characters, a dragon, a robot, a magical wizard girl, a monster, and various fantasy elements in a dungeon setting.

our 2026 season

was a huge success

Stay Tuned for

Summer 2027

Come join us for an epic adventure that blends DnD with VEX Robotics.

You and your friends have been transported to a galactic gameshow arena where you must work together to battle the denizens of the dungeon. You will find loot and use the provided materials to engineer solutions to challenges in this hybrid game of Dungeons & Dragons meets robotics. The lines between reality and fantasy get blurred as the intrepid survivors switch between rolling 20-sided dice and learning about the engineering design process.

Can you build a device to allow your party to deactivate the minefield?

How will you work together to take down the arena boss and travel back home?

VEX Robotics is a leader in robotics education. The Dungeon Master is a 20-year veteran science teacher who wants to increase STEM education opportunities in Paso Robles.

Get To Know Us A Bit

A smiling man and a smiling boy taking a selfie outside near a sports field with soccer goals and players in the background on a sunny day.

Central Coast STEM Academy was founded by Jon-Paul Ewing, a locally raised science teacher dedicated to giving students meaningful, hands-on experiences in science and engineering.

Jon-Paul is a graduate of Cal Poly (Biological Sciences and Ecology & Systematic Biology). He is a proud Bearcat alumnus and loves teaching in his hometown for the past 20 years. Beyond the classroom, JP is involved in the local community.

LEARN EVEN MORE