East Las Vegas robotics students turn their children's space book into a Spanish audiobook to widen access to STEM

What happened

Students on a robotics team at Southeast Career Technical Academy (SECTA) in East Las Vegas have written a children's book meant to introduce young readers and their families to space and STEM, KTNV reported. The book is called Space Whiskers. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

The team, known as Pair of Dice Robotics, also released a Spanish audiobook version of the book. According to KTNV, the goal is to give Spanish-speaking children and families another way to explore STEM education.

A storybook approach to science

What Space Whiskers is

KTNV described the project as an effort to make STEM more accessible to families through storytelling. Space Whiskers is a children's book aimed at young readers. It is designed to introduce both the children and their families to the world of space and STEM.

Why a Spanish version

The Spanish audiobook adds another format for families who speak Spanish. Team member Nataly Gillard, who helped launch the audiobook, hopes it will reach Spanish-speaking children as well as parents who may not have access to the same STEM resources, KTNV reported. She said the project gives more families a chance to introduce their children to science and technology.

The students behind the project

A team member's own experience

Gillard told KTNV she has been involved in robotics and STEM for more than nine years. "Accessibility to STEM should be for everybody," she said.

She said having resources like this available in Spanish could have made a difference for her and her family when she was younger. Reflecting on her own start in robotics as a young girl, she told the station, "I believe it would have been so useful to me and my family."

Narrating the audiobook

Bryan Montes, another member of the team, helped narrate the Spanish version of Space Whiskers. He told KTNV he is happy to be part of a project that can help younger generations learn about STEM opportunities.

"It makes me feel happy that I am able to help other students," Montes said. He said those students include the younger generation in elementary school, middle school and even high school.

What the coach says

Jennifer Miller, the coach of Pair of Dice Robotics, said she encourages students to use the opportunities they have to give back to their community. "Something that we try to instill in the students is to not take for granted the opportunities that they have," Miller told KTNV.

Miller said the students show that lesson by giving back to the community. For Gillard, KTNV reported, the hope is that the book inspires young readers to see what is possible when they explore STEM.

What to watch next

• Whether the Spanish audiobook reaches Spanish-speaking children and parents who may not have access to the same STEM resources, as Gillard told KTNV she hopes.
• Whether Space Whiskers inspires young readers to explore STEM, the goal Gillard described for the book.