Hi! My name is Sarai and I live in the Pocket area of Sacramento. Last summer, I went to this super cool robotics camp called Play to Labs and it was the best thing ever! They teach kids like me how to make robots move and do tricks. I learned how to code using blocks that fit together like puzzle pieces, and then I made my robot drive forward, backward, and even spin in circles. My teacher said I was a natural coder!

The camp is for kids ages 8 to 16, so I was the youngest there, but everyone was so nice and helped me. We worked in teams to build bigger robots that could pick up objects and race against each other. My team won the race on the last day! I felt so proud. My father said coding is like magic because you tell the robot what to do with words, and it listens.

“Coding is like magic because you tell the robot what to do with words, and it listens.”
— Sarai's father

Now I want to go back again this summer! My father says maybe I can learn to make a robot that cleans my room or feeds our dog. That would be awesome. The camp is in Sacramento, and our neighborhood is close by, so my father can drive me there. All the kids in the Pocket should try it because it's so much fun and you learn something really important for the future.

I told my sister Alani all about the camp, and now she wants to go too when she's older. My teacher said maybe our school can start a robotics club. I'm going to be the club president! Coding is not just for grown-ups with computers. Kids like me can do it too, and we can make robots that do amazing things.

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Sarai Moten is a staff reporter at The Kid Reporter based in Sacramento, CA. To read more of her work, visit the newsroom →