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  • Izamar Galeana, left, Stephanie Macareno, and Valeria Ibarra use Lego...

    Izamar Galeana, left, Stephanie Macareno, and Valeria Ibarra use Lego parts during a lesson about gears and friction at a robotics class at the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club on Monday. The club is looking to expand its relatively new robotics and coding programs.

  • Paola Ramon, center, gets a demonstration of friction as she...

    Paola Ramon, center, gets a demonstration of friction as she pushes Valeria Ibarra, left, in a chair with wheels and Izamar Galeana, in a chair without wheels during a lesson about gears and friction at a robotics class at the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club on Monday. The club is looking to expand its relatively new robotics and coding programs.

  • Students use Lego parts during a lesson about gears and...

    Students use Lego parts during a lesson about gears and friction at a robotics class at the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club on Monday. The club is looking to expand its relatively new robotics and coding programs.

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SANTA ANA – Jose Delgado and Victor Garcia zip across the classroom like bees, buzzing with excitement as their students tinker with Legos.

But these Legos aren’t merely colorful pieces of plastic. They can be used to build robots.

The class is part of a coding and robotics program launched earlier this year at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Ana. It aims to give low-income children and teens more access to technology and the Internet.

“These kids are going to be the ones that pave the future for us,” said Jose Delgado, a program specialist at the club.

Last week, a group of fidgeting fourth- and fifth-graders learned the basics of robotics.

In a room lit up with teal and gray walls, about a dozen students reached into their special robotics-themed Lego boxes as Delgado briefed them on the task ahead. The tech room features a laptop, projector and a tri-colored Albert Einstein painting that seems to silently watch over the students.

After learning about concepts including gears and friction, the students were asked to build a wheel-like device using the special Legos. The kit is full of plastic pieces that will be used to build a robot. It also includes more complex items like motors, sensors and a programmable CPU “brain.”

Delgado, 27, says he wishes he had access to a robotics course when he was a kid. After graduating from UC Irvine with a degree in film and media studies in 2009, Delgado developed the Club Tech program for the Boys & Girls Clubs. Now, he commands attention from the audience.

“I’m really excited to find out where they can go,” he said.

Serving as both cheerleader and teacher, Delgado emphasized a hands-on approach. To teach kids about friction, he asked for two volunteers. He put one student in a rolling chair. The other sat in a chair without wheels.

The rolling chair won in a race across the carpet, and Delgado used the experience to show how wheels improve speed.

Delgado teaches alongside Victor Garcia, 20, a Santa Ana resident majoring in mechanical engineering at Stanford University. Garcia said he hopes kids can get a basic understanding of computer science and robotics though this summer course.

Making sure students don’t have to decipher tech industry jargon is important. During Garcia’s presentation, he compared a robot’s senors to human senses, illustrating the connection between man and machine.

“What other sensors can you guys think of?” Garcia asked the students.

“Touching!” one student shouted.

Valeria Ibarra, 9, sat with her pals as they built a wheel using Legos from the kit.

“I’m very creative, and I love to build,” she said.

Getting into this robotics course takes time. The students in the summer class had to learn coding for several months before moving up to robotics. Through exercises on code.org, students gain a firm understanding of computer programming.

Both programs are part of the club’s aim to expand technology access, including letting kids use laptops and tablets.

Travis Whitten, chief philanthropy officer for the club, said some students don’t have access to personal computers or the Internet at home. He hopes these programs prepare students for the job market.

“If kids don’t have any idea how to use technology … by the time they graduate in 10 years, they’re at such a disadvantage to their peers,” he said.

Whitten said the club is interested in partnering with nearby schools to give more kids access to coding and robotics.

Delgado said he wants to see the program expand, too.

“Seeing their excitement from learning that they can do it … is just rewarding,” Delgado said. “These guys are going to be at a higher level by the time they reach my age.”

As Delgado wrapped up Monday’s lesson, the kids showered him with applause. But before letting them go, he gave them an unexpected gift: homework.

Contact the writer: snewell@ocregister.com