Building Bots, Building Bridges: Orphanage Club and the First Robotics Competition Team Bring STEAM Learning to Local Youth

On Saturday, November 8, the Taipei American School Orphanage Club and Upper School First Robotics Competition (FRC) team welcomed a diverse group of visiting students to campus for a hands-on robotics experience designed to make STEAM learning accessible to all. Participants spent the morning exploring how robots move, sense, and compete, guided by TAS students who shared their passion for engineering and innovation.  

The event marked the first collaboration between the Orphanage Club and the FRC team, bringing together two student groups with a shared commitment to service. Together, they introduced visiting students to the creativity and problem-solving behind competitive robotics.  

“This event stood out among the many robotics classes our team has taught because of how it allowed us to partner with our own community,” said Sophie H. ’26, a member of the FRC team. “I really enjoyed seeing our own high schoolers step up and become teachers for the first time, and I’m glad that our robotics team is prioritizing service as a core value. Working with the Cathwel Boys was also super inspiring! I hope that we can continue this partnership to help deepen their newfound passion for robotics.”  

Over the past few years, the FRC team has designed and refined a project-based robotics curriculum used in schools, churches, and hospitals across Taiwan. The approach emphasizes creativity, independence, and problem-solving. For this session, participants first built a basic LEGO car together, then split into smaller groups to take on more complex challenges.  

“We’ve found that giving students the freedom to choose how and what they want to learn creates the best experience,” Sophie explained. “Some focus on programming, while others spend their time building creative mechanisms. It’s a great way to accommodate different skill levels while keeping everyone engaged.”  

Through projects like this, TAS students demonstrate how learning extends beyond the classroom. The workshop embodied the school’s mission to cultivate lifelong learning, personal well-being, and service, showing how students can use their passions to make a meaningful difference. For Sophie and her teammates, the day wasn’t just about building robots; it was about building connections as they brought the Schoolwide Learning Outcomes to life through collaboration, communication, and creation.  

As the day ended, laughter and high-fives filled the lab. Robots were packed away, but the impact of the experience of shared learning, inclusion, and kindness will continue to inspire everyone involved.  

While the FRC team and Orphanage Club collaboration brought technology and service together in a new way, the Orphanage Club continues to make a difference through a variety of year-round initiatives. This semester, the club launched its annual Angel Tree Project, sponsoring gifts for more than 350 children from families in financial need. It is also organizing an Orchid Island Relief Drive to assist families affected by recent typhoons, and its upcoming Hunger Week campaign will raise funds for OXFAM’s humanitarian work in the Middle East.  

For the Orphanage Club and the FRC team, it was more than a workshop. It was a reminder that technology, when powered by empathy, can help build a better world, one robot at a time.