C-STEM Day Competitions

The UC Davis Secondary School Math Programming Competition provides students in secondary schools with the opportunity to apply their fundamental computer programming skills for applications in mathematics. Being the gatekeeper to STEM careers, mathematics is necessary for all secondary school students. This competition challenges students to apply their programming skills to solve math problems. Students will use structured programming in C, including basic programming concepts such as variables, math expressions and operators, selection statements, and loops for computer-aided math problem solving.

RoboPlay Competitions are open-ended design challenges. The goal of the RoboPlay Competitions is to broaden student participation in computing, science, technology, engineering, and math (C-STEM) education with positive youth development for all students. The teamwork involved in the RoboPlay Competitions will engage all students including those who are inclined to pursue careers in the arts or humanities.

RoboPlay is designed for K-12 students to play with robots while having fun and exploring their creativity in writing, art, music, choreography, design, and film making and at the same time seamlessly learning C-STEM subjects. The necessary robot coordination to match the movement of multiple modules to music requires not only teamwork in designing a well-organized visual performance, but also the math and programming skills to produce the desired actions. The competitions enable students with different interests to explore the basic concepts of C-STEM in conjunction with their artistic and music talents.