Science Spectacular: Inspiring the Islanders of Tomorrow

Young eyes were wide open recently at Mireles Elementary as drones flew inside their classroom. It was all part of a demonstration put on by some of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s brightest minds as they took part in the annual Science Spectacular on March 6, 2025.   

The Science Spectacular is an event hosted by Mireles Elementary aimed at sparking a love of science within its students. Dr. Carlos Rubio-Medrano and Dr. Pablo Rangel from TAMU-CC's College of Engineering and Computer Science accompanied by three Ph.D. students — Jennifer Mondragon, Syed Izzat Ullah, and Joshua Garcia — were invited to share their knowledge with these eager young students.  

The group from the Island University presented one of their current projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), featuring drones. They brought three drones to demonstrate how they are controlled, share drone safety tips, and discuss research on new drone technology they are developing.  

After the demonstration, Dr. Rubio-Medrano and the other TAMU-CC members led a hands-on activity where the students made paper airplanes and competed to see whose airplane could fly the furthest. This event is one of many community outreach programs that the College of Engineering and Computer Science participates in. 

“Events like this are a good opportunity for students to explore topics in STEM,” said Dr. Carlos Rubio-Medrano. “We also want students to know that there are really cool careers that they could pursue with a degree in Engineering or Computer Science, and they don’t have to leave Corpus Christi to study that someday.”