RAFT Blog, News, and Events

Featured Articles and News

A Legacy of Learning: The Guidry Foundation and RAFT’s Endowment Fund

January 26, 2026

For over three decades, RAFT has been fortunate to be supported by partners who believe deeply in the power of hands-on learning. Among them is The Mark & Carolyn Guidry Foundation, longtime champions of education, creativity, and opportunity for all students.  Founded in 1994, the Guidry Foundation was established by Mark and Carolyn Guidry to…

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Annual Fundraiser Recap: RAFT to the Future of STEAM Education

September 25, 2025

On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, RAFT hosted its annual fundraising event: RAFT to the Future. Over 130 supporters were present at RAFT, which was transformed into a beautiful space for the special event for the night. That evening, we honored the individuals and organizations that have made a profound impact on RAFT and the education…

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STEAM Dream Summer Camp 2025: A Season of Innovation, Discovery, and Fun

August 19, 2025

This August marks the exciting wrap-up of RAFT’s 2025 STEAM Dream Summer Camp and DreamBox season-our biggest yet! Over the course of eight action-packed weeks, we delivered more than 180 hours of hands-on STEAM programming, engaging TK-8 students from across the Bay Area in engineering challenges, storytelling adventures, and STEAM experimentation. With programs running across…

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🏆 RAFT Wins Double Gold in Bay Area Parent’s 2025 Best of the Best Awards!

July 29, 2025

RAFT is proud to announce that our STEAM Dream Summer Camp has been awarded Gold in two categories in Bay Area Parent Magazine’s 2025 Best of the Best Awards: 🥇 Best Day Camp – Silicon Valley 🥇 Best Science & Technology Camp – Silicon Valley This exciting recognition reflects the strength and impact of RAFT’s…

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Paying Tribute to Nigel Ball

Aug 6, 2021 | Comments Off on Paying Tribute to Nigel Ball

The RAFT family is sad to share the passing of our current board member and longtime friend and supporter, Nigel Ball. “During the many years that I had the joy of knowing Nigel, I found him to be a kindred spirit.  He shared my…

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Ramp It Up Event with RAFT’s Maker Mobile

Jul 29, 2021 | Comments Off on Ramp It Up Event with RAFT’s Maker Mobile

The RAFT Maker Mobile, sponsored by The Sharks Foundation and Western Digital, rolled onto the Milpitas School District campus on a cool July morning. About 50 summer school students joined RAFT’s Education facilitators, Qi Diaz, Mikey Ramot, and Mike Pollock for the Ramp It…

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Have You Used Our Laser Engraver?

Jul 26, 2021 | Comments Off on Have You Used Our Laser Engraver?
Laser Engraver

Our laser engraver is available for use by approved RAFT members from Wednesdays through Fridays. Approved members are those that have taken the RAFT introductory laser workshop. We understand that it may have been a while since you last used a laser engraver, so if you…

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RAFT Delivers 3 New STEAM Kits to Walden West

Jun 21, 2021 | Comments Off on RAFT Delivers 3 New STEAM Kits to Walden West

Two weeks ago, the Walden West Team was able to play with three new STEAM Project Kits: The Electric-wind Generator, Bread Bag Parachute, The Articulated Leg. Each person was able to design, prototype and test their designs in preparation for their summer camps. Over 300…

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TK-2 STEAM Kits for Hands-On Early Childhood Education

Jun 21, 2021 | Comments Off on TK-2 STEAM Kits for Hands-On Early Childhood Education

RAFT has been fortunate to work with the very talented Jennifer Hunau, STEM Coordinator for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, in developing a series of 9 STEAM kits for over 6,000 TK-2 students. Pictured below are materials for 12,870 kits that were…

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San Antonio Makerspace Build

Jun 15, 2021 | Comments Off on San Antonio Makerspace Build

June 7th – 8th were busy days for the students at San Antonio Elementary School in San Jose. Nearly 50 students in grades K-5 built furniture for their school makerspace with RAFT! The makerspace build is a project from RAFT’s Education department where we…

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