One of the most interesting teachers you have probably never met, Mr. Bowie, the CAD(computer aided design)/Robotics teacher at El Modena. Unless of course you happen to take one of his classes and in that case, you are a fan. When you walk into his classroom, your IQ increases at least 5 points, surrounded by essentially “the Future”, 3D printers, advanced computers, software and gadgets and gizmos of all shapes and sizes abound.
Mr. Bowie studied industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spends his time building robots. A true definition of a tinkerer, he makes his robots from scratch, designing and coding each aspect, all the while instructing and sharing this passion with his students. “I like that I can give kids the confidence and knowledge to create,” says Bowie. In addition, to his full-time teaching position at El Modena, Bowie also Mentors the Clockwork Oranges, the inter-district Robotics club, as well as teaching STEAM (science technology engineering art and mathematics) classes at the Orange Public library.
Clockwork Oranges were front and center last Saturday for one of his STEAM classes at the Orange public library, where he instructed local middle schoolers. The teens learned some of the basics of programming and assembled a Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot. After much trial and error, the kids efforts paid off as they were able to navigate their robots through a maze.
So, if you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the Robotics lab and meet Mr. Bowie, it is a must see stop on your way to nutrition or lunch. I guarantee you will find him, surrounded by a colorful sea of sticky notes and his Robotics team, reinventing the wheel.