Author: Evan Chen
This summer from July 7th to July 11th, rising 9th grader Evan Chen along with Ruichen Feng created and taught a STEM summer camp called CYOC 2025 Summer Engineering Workshop with slideshows they made themselves and Arduino robot Evan designed. Special thanks to rising 8th grader George Wang coming by on Thursday to help. The workshop concluded on Friday with proud smiles, working prototypes, and a strong sense of accomplishment among campers, parents, advisors and instructors alike.
What was taught at the camp?
Onshape
On Monday and Tuesday, Ruichen Feng taught CAD in Onshape. By the end of the Onshape/CAD unit, the campers were proficient enough at these skills to design and 3D print either a miniature sword or treasure chest.
Arduino
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Evan Chen taught circuitry with sensors and LEDs, and programming with Arduino. During the Thursday and Friday following the Arduino unit, campers could make a robot car that could either spin in circles, avoid obstacles, or follow you around.
“This week was fun! I learned 3 D design, printing and build an Arduino robot!” said Daniel.
“We learned to make something from scratch—it’s challenging but we made it work.” added Mason Zhou.
“Look, my robot can follow my hand!”said Steven.
“My robot can turn around when my feet is close to it!” said Angela.
Fun times!
Games!
With few participants who wanted to play four square during outdoor breaks and recess, campers invented two squares, a spin on the game four square with their own rules. Eventually, the game gained traction and became a popular choice among the campers to play during breaks.
Pizza!
After the majority of people had finished wiring and coding of their robot cars on Friday, the people at the camp had a pizza party donated by one student Daniel’s father Mr. Chunhua Guo. Near the end of the pizza party, CYOC advisors Drs. Ping Lu and Tao Chen came in to congratulate the campers on their progress, encourage them to keep learning, and introduce CYOC to those who did not already know what it was. Afterwards, they hosted a show-and-tell where the campers proudly showed the CYOC advisors their swords, chests, and robot cars they had made over the past week. The creativity, problem-solving, and enthusiasm on display were truly inspiring.
Closing notes
Motives
According to Evan Chen, one of the main reasons he dedicated so much effort to this workshop was because his dissatisfaction with how some STEM camps were run. Specifically, he disliked how in some of the STEM camps he felt like he barely learned anything, even though the camp was week-long and labeled “STEM”. Because of this, Evan created this summer camp with his friend Ruichen and George to offer a more impactful experience—one where kids could truly learn STEM concepts through hands-on projects, while he also challenged himself to grow as a teacher and engineer, work alongside friends, and give back to the community. Evan feels proud seeing the campers grow, collaborate, and gain confidence through the experience.
With exciting new topics like Arduino robotics and drone engineering on the horizon, Evan is already planning future workshops—and he and friends are looking forward to continuing this journey of innovation and discovery with you!
Thanks to:
Evan and his friends Ruichen, George are grateful to CYOC advisors Drs. Ping Lu, Tao Chen and Yuxiang Xie for their help and advice in making this camp. Without them, they wouldn’t have been able to make this camp. They also appreciate parent volunteers Mrs. Fayuan Wen, Chuanfeng Wu, Shanyi Jiang, Bo Chen, Minna Ng for their generous time and support throughout the workshop.
Website Editor: Peishi Yu
华府青年 CYOC 
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