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Our Past Programs
From a single after-school team at a Nashua school to a program that is accessible statewide across New Hampshire - here's our journey so far...
From a single after-school team at a Nashua school to a program that is accessible statewide across New Hampshire - here's our journey so far...
Year at a Glance · 2024
The Local Beacon launched its inaugural STEM after-school program at St. Christopher's Academy in Nashua. Using FIRST Lego League curriculum, a team of students — Team Marine Mechanics — built, coded, and competed, earning the 2nd highest score at the regional tournament.
The Local Beacon launched its very first STEM after-school program at St. Christopher's Academy in Nashua, NH. Leveraging the FIRST Lego League curriculum, a team of 10 students met twice per week for three months — building LEGO stations, constructing and programming a robot, and learning to apply the Engineering Design Process and Scientific Method to real-world challenges.
Students were placed in positions to collaborate, fail forward, and present their design process to judges. Core principles like "Fail to Learn" and "Silent Observation" shaped every session, building not just technical skills but confidence, resilience, and teamwork.
Recorded the 2nd highest score at the FIRST Robotics regional competition — November 2024
Year at a Glance · 2025
A transformative year for The Local Beacon — expanding to two curriculum paths (Basic and Advanced), then moving programming to CodeWiz Nashua to serve students statewide. Team Gyro Cranes finished 4th at regionals and qualified for the NH State Tournament.
Building on the success of the inaugural season, The Local Beacon extended its program at St. Christopher's Academy to serve more students with two distinct curriculum paths:
Basic Path — Designed for elementary-age students, focused on foundational building, creativity, and introductory engineering concepts using LEGO bricks and guided problem-solving.
Advanced Path — Designed for middle school students, with deeper focus on robot programming, engineering design, and competition-level challenges.
To broaden access and reach students across all of New Hampshire, The Local Beacon moved its STEM programming to CodeWiz in Nashua. As a dedicated STEM learning center, CodeWiz offered the infrastructure, resources, and visibility to welcome students from well beyond the Nashua area — making the program truly statewide.
The Gyro Cranes brought together students from communities across New Hampshire — including one student traveling all the way from the Dartmouth region — reflecting the statewide reach the CodeWiz partnership made possible.
The team competed in the FIRST Lego League regional tournament, demonstrating their robot's capabilities and presenting their engineering design process to a panel of judges. Their performance earned them a spot at the New Hampshire State Tournament.
Finished 4th at the FIRST Lego League Regional Tournament — qualified for the NH State Tournament
Year at a Glance · 2026
Brian Melanson joins the FIRST New Hampshire Competition Committee, bringing The Local Beacon's voice into statewide STEM event planning.
Executive Director Brian Melanson was invited to join the FIRST New Hampshire Competition Committee — helping plan and organize STEM competitions and events across the state. This role deepens The Local Beacon's involvement in the broader NH STEM community and ensures our voice is part of shaping future opportunities for students statewide.