Curiosity Catalyst: Marlborough Robotics Serves Local Communities

By Sarah S. ’26 and Chloe T. ’26

Earlier this November, Marlborough’s Upper School robotics team, Curiosity 11770, welcomed more than 300 young roboticists, families, coaches, and community members to campus for a FIRST Lego League (FLL) Qualifier Tournament. The event marked the culmination of a two-year effort, driven by Sarah S. ’26, Chloe T. ’26, and Curiosity 11770, to expand robotics access for youth across Central LA.

The project began when Curiosity realized how transformative robotics had been for the entire team, but that their experience was heavily dependent on access. As one of the few all-girls robotics team globally, we felt we had a responsibility to ensure that young girls could see themselves in this space. Two years ago, we founded an all-girls FLL team at the Hollywood Boys and Girls Club (BGC), located just ten minutes from Marlborough but in a community with significantly different access to educational resources and opportunities. Through weekly coaching sessions, Sarah and Chloe—the team leads—developed a curriculum tailored for students aged seven to 14, and spent nearly two full robotics seasons preparing the team for competition.

When the team was ready, they realized the nearest tournament was over an hour away. With many parents working weekends, attending was nearly impossible for the entire BGC team. Conversations with mentors at Third Street Elementary confirmed that this issue was widespread. Teams across Central LA were forced to travel long distances for every event, creating obstacles that prevented many students from competing at all.

Determined to close this gap, Sarah and Chloe met in the fall of 2024 with SoCal’s FLL Program Delivery Partner Paul Kass to understand what it would take to host a tournament. What followed was more than a year of work—planning, coordinating, recruiting volunteers, securing facilities, organizing judging and refereeing logistics, and building the full competition fields. Sarah and Chloe trained in Riverside alongside other tournament directors, worked closely with the Center for Early Education, refereed a tournament the weekend prior to Marlborough’s, and sourced competition tables that, against all odds, fit into a single Marlborough Suburban.

Bringing this event to life was a full community effort. Faculty members, student volunteers, Marlborough robotics alumnae, and families stepped up to support our tournament in every way possible. Their work made it possible for 24 FLL teams to compete without the burden of a long commute, finally bringing an accessible FLL Qualifier to Central LA. Many coaches gave positive feedback on the tournament’s organization and efficiency.

The day concluded with student presentations about Marlborough robotics, a shop tour led by Curiosity members, and a visible sense of excitement from students competing. For our team, the tournament was more than just a qualifier. It was the culmination of two years to bring robotics opportunities to hundreds of students, build community, and ensure that every young roboticist had an opportunity to compete!