Droidathon: Kids learn about science at contest
Droids that blew bubbles, displayed holographic images and dispensed Pez candies were among the entrants at Lucasfilm headquarters in a contest this week designed to get boys and girls interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
About 100 people turned out for the Droidathon in the Presidio, as employees from Google, Facebook, Instagram, Fitbit
and Industrial Light & Magic turned their talents to creating “Star Wars”-inspired droids using a kit from smart toy maker LittleBits Electronics.
The judges were about two dozen children from the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, Black Girls Code, Boys & Girls Clubs and the YMCA.
The event came a month before Disney and Lucasfilm are to release “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the latest in the long-running movie series.
Actress Kelly Marie Tran, who plays a character named Rose Tico in the upcoming film, was on hand for the Droidathon, which kicked off a wider LittleBits droid-making competition for residents of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. That contest ends Jan. 10, with Tran, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and actress Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, doing the judging.
LittleBits founder and CEO Ayah Bdeir hopes the event will increase children’s interest in science, engineering and the arts. “What could be more fun and inspiring than seeing the world’s top innovators and role models creating the weirdest Droids anyone has ever seen?” she said in a statement.
The boys and girls judging Wednesday’s event had the chance to talk to company representatives about their droids, such as Fitbit’s bubble-blowing entry, which won in the category of “droid we most want to keep ourselves.” Google employees made the Pez-dispensing droid, named “the droid that’s the most inventive and best idea.”