ARLINGTON — Arlington High School’s Robotics Club recently reported that all three of its 2015 summer camps filled up, which is a first in its five-year history.

The camps have served as the Robotics Club’s primary fundraiser for three years, generating enough money to meet the club’s budget of $14,000.

Club president Elizabeth Burnham said: “We also apply for sponsorships and grants, which is where we get a lot of our other money. We also have a video game night, which raises a little bit of money.”

This summer saw 25 student volunteers supervising 172 younger students, a few of whom had signed up for more than one camp.

“We had a few parents whose kids really wanted to do the day camps, but we were already filled up,” Burnham said. “They’ll be getting first pick next year.”

She added: “Parents who want their kids in as soon as possible next summer should email us, and we can send out the information to them in the spring, when we create the curriculum and begin advertising.”

Burnham noted that students have come from Marysville, Lakewood and Lake Stevens.

“It’s neat when I see them around town, and they’re like, ‘Hi, Lizzie,'” Burnham said.

The summer camps began with motorized tools and vehicles built out of Lego kits, before the club turned to the Internet for further inspiration.

“It was a trial-and-error process,” Burnham said. “If a project clicked, we offered it again, and if it didn’t work, we didn’t do it again.”

Brandon Kovach, project manager for the summer camps, admitted they were as educational for the instructors as for the students.

“You don’t realize that you don’t really understand programming until you have to explain it to a kid,” said Kovach, who credits the camps with teaching him how to be a teacher.

Kaylee Wren, the club’s public relations manager, reported that the camps proved popular enough to draw a robotics club from Lynnwood to observe. Lead faculty mentor Mark Ehrhardt described the Lynnwood club as “impressed” with the Arlington camps, which had to borrow 3-D printers from Post Middle School just to keep up with the courses’ demands.

“We’re thinking of adding more camps and days,” Wren said. “When you see the smiles on the kids’ faces, that’s a reward in itself. We not only teach them the concepts of robotics, but that, in competition, sometimes you lose and sometimes you win.”