# Happy Kids Robotics

> Happy Kids Robotics (HKR) is a robotics and STEM school for children aged 6 to 14 in Glendora, California. It teaches students to design, build and program VEX robots, runs VEX IQ competition teams, and holds themed robotics camps when school is out.

## Key facts

- Name: Happy Kids Robotics, also written HKR.
- What it is: hands-on robotics and STEM classes for children aged 6 to 14.
- Location: 1311 S Grand Ave #170, Glendora, CA 91740, United States.
- Area served: Glendora and the San Gabriel Valley, including San Dimas, La Verne, Covina, Azusa, Claremont and Diamond Bar.
- Phone: (413) 416-9192. Email: contact@happykidsedu.com.
- Website: https://www.happykidsedu.com/
- Founder and Program Director: Zixiang Jin, who goes by Skyler.
- Coaching: programs are led by a VEX World Champion coach.
- Competition: the school fields two VEX IQ teams, an elementary team (Happy Pickles, team 61319G) and a middle school team (Team HK, team 61319X).
- Enrolment and trial classes: a single Google Form at https://forms.gle/i6MmDSLhm1kbaGeg6

## Programs

- Little Engineers. Introductory hands-on engineering: gears, gear ratios, levers, drivetrains, balance and centre of mass, through machines built and tested in a single session such as claw bots, tug of war rigs and catapults.
- VEX IQ Build and Code. Students build a VEX IQ robot, wire motors and sensors, and program it to complete tasks such as line following, maze clearing and autonomous path driving. Coding starts in blocks and moves to text when the student is ready.
- VEX IQ Competition Team. A full season: reading the game, design, build and iteration, drive practice, an engineering notebook that is judged, judge interview preparation, and local tournaments.

## Memberships

- Explorer: $280 per month. For students starting out.
- Innovator: $480 per month. Includes Competition Prep. The level most families choose.
- Champion: $899 per month. For students on a full competition season.
- Camps are priced separately by the week.

## Camps

Thirteen themed weeks in the summer rotation, alternating three tracks: Little Engineers, VEX IQ Build and Code, and VEX IQ Team Boot Camp (Mix and Match). Shorter camps also run over school breaks. Dates are confirmed each year and are not published in advance on the site.

## Robot Arcade

Four free browser games at https://www.happykidsedu.com/arcade/, with no sign-up and no download:

- Auton: build a command sequence so a robot collects bean bags and scores them without a driver. Teaches sequencing and debugging.
- Gear Lab: choose a driver and driven gear to meet a brief for speed or torque. Teaches mechanical advantage and the trade between the two.
- Binary Blitz: a sixty second sprint converting between decimal and 8 bit binary, with a two player pass-the-keyboard mode.
- Logic Gates: wire three gates so the output matches a target truth table, including building XOR without an XOR gate. Teaches Boolean logic.

## Common questions

- Minimum age is 6 and the oldest students are 14.
- No prior coding or building experience is needed. Most students start with none.
- Students do not have to compete. Weekly classes stand on their own.
- Trial classes are available. Parents are welcome to watch a full session.
- VEX IQ is the elementary and middle school level of VEX Robotics, using a snap-together system with motors, sensors and a controller. A new game with new scoring rules is released each season.

## Pages

- Home: https://www.happykidsedu.com/
- Programs: https://www.happykidsedu.com/programs/
- Competition team: https://www.happykidsedu.com/competition/
- Camps: https://www.happykidsedu.com/camps/
- Robot Arcade: https://www.happykidsedu.com/arcade/
- About: https://www.happykidsedu.com/about/
- FAQ: https://www.happykidsedu.com/faq/
- Visit: https://www.happykidsedu.com/visit/

## Policy on students

Happy Kids Robotics does not publish students' names or close-up photographs without a parent's written permission. On the website students are referred to by team rather than by name.