RAFT kicked off July with a hands-on, minds-on celebration of innovation by partnering with Synaptics for their Bring Your Kids to Work Day at the company's San Jose campus.

Synaptics employees brought their children to learn more about what their parents do and how STEM and STEAM skills power the technology all around us. RAFT joined the fun with engaging, interactive activities that gave students a deeper look into real-world science and engineering.

Kat and Mikey from RAFT's Education Team get the kids excited for a day of STEAM exploration—introducing the activities and sparking curiosity from the very start!
Kat and Mikey from RAFT's Education Team get the kids excited for a day of STEAM exploration—introducing the activities and sparking curiosity from the very start!

In addition to touring the Synaptics campus and viewing tech demos, the children engaged in some of RAFT's most popular hands-on activities:

  • 🧬 CSI:RAFT – Participants extracted DNA and learned how genetic information is used in science and medicine. They got a close-up look at the invisible building blocks of life.
  • 🚗 Car on a Roll: Crash Test – Using recycled materials, participants learned how to design and build vehicles and test passenger safety. They explored the physics of speed, force, and motion, then iterated on their designs to improve performance and safety.
  • 🚀 Stomp Rockets – Future aerospace engineers unleashed their creativity by designing and launching paper rockets using stomp launchers. As they tested and modified their rocket designs, students learned about air pressure, trajectory, and force.
  • 🌀 Try to Top That – In this playful exploration of motion and momentum, students used maker materials to create spinning tops. After testing their designs, they upgraded them to improve spin time and stability, gaining insights into balance, friction, and angular momentum.
Teamwork in action! Kids collaborate to solve a hands-on RAFT STEAM Design Challenge during Bring Your Kids to Work Day.
Teamwork in action! Kids collaborate to solve a hands-on RAFT STEAM Design Challenge during Bring Your Kids to Work Day.
Kids line up at the ramp, ready to put their handmade vehicles to the test in the Car on a Roll challenge. Will their designs pass the speed and safety test?
Kids line up at the ramp, ready to put their handmade vehicles to the test in the Car on a Roll challenge. Will their designs pass the speed and safety test?

Events like these showcase the power of bringing STEAM learning into real-world settings, where students can connect what they're learning to future possibilities. RAFT was proud to partner with Synaptics to inspire the next generation of thinkers, tinkerers, and trailblazers!