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Building Circuits, Confidence, and Career Skills

Posted on: September 30, 2026

Summary: Thanks to Seattle Education Foundation and SPS CTE, Orca K-8 students are gaining experience with electronics, soldering, and engineering.

Two students wearing safety glasses assemble electronic kits in an ORCA K-8classroom. The students use soldering equipment, circuit boards, and instructional guides while learning electronics and engineering concepts. Pinball machines and additional students working on projects are visible in the background.

Future Engineers in the Making at Orca K-8!

Congratulations to the scholars at Orca K-8 who are exploring the exciting world of electrical engineering thanks to a $3,000 grant from the Seattle Education Foundation and support from SPS Career and Technical Education (CTE). Students have already learned how to safely use soldering irons, practiced their skills by creating figurines from electronic components, and begun building functioning electronics through hands-on soldering projects. 

The momentum is growing as students prepare to dive deeper into key engineering concepts, including voltage, current, resistance, circuitry, digital multimeters, and reading electronic schematics. Even more exciting, they will apply their learning to a collection of nine pinball machines housed in the classroom, gaining real-world experience working with complex electronic systems.  

We are proud of these innovative scholars as they build skills, confidence, and pathways to future careers in STEM. 

Two students wearing safety glasses work on electronics projects in a Orca K-8 classroom. Each student uses a soldering iron at a table equipped with soldering stations, hand tools, and electronic components. Additional students are working at tables in the background. Several pinball machines line one side of the classroom, highlighting a hands-on learning environment focused on electrical engineering and electronics.
Student wearing safety glasses displays a small electronic robot built in class as it follows a track on a tabletop.
Two students wearing safety glasses assemble electronic kits in an ORCA K-8classroom. The students use soldering equipment, circuit boards, and instructional guides while learning electronics and engineering concepts. Pinball machines and additional students working on projects are visible in the background.

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