It is named after Christopher Clavius, a German Jesuit mathematician and astronomer responsible for the Gregorian Calendar as well as the first in the Church to confirm his former student Galileo's Heliocentric Theory of the universe.

The Clavius Project began in 2014 as a collaboration among SLUH students, faculty and staff to bring STEM enrichment opportunities to city Catholic middle schools.

We currently offer a Robotics curriculum with about 35 participating middle schools. While continuing to prioritize Catholic middle schools in St. Louis City, we have expanded to include any middle school. 

The program uses Lego Spike Prime kits to build the robot and to perform the challenges. The Clavius Project creates the challenges for the students to work on, and educator guides are available to assist teachers in working with their students. In some cases, SLUH student mentors work as volunteers alongside the middle school students and teacher.

Students are working on the challenges on a weekly basis, and the program ends with a Jamboree at SLUH. The Jamboree is a chance for the students to let their robot perform as many of the challenges that they worked on throughout the year. Judges are present to grade the performance. 

The Clavius Jamboree is Saturday, February 28, 2026 in the Danis Field House at SLUH. 

Nothing. There is no cost to participate in the Clavius Project.

You will need Lego Spike Prime kits. We recommend having one kit for every 2-3 participating students. 

You will also need a computer, chromebook or tablet to perform the coding for the robot (one of these for every 2-3 participating students).

Most middle schools begin in the fall (between mid-September and mid-October) and the project concludes at the end of February with a Jamboree at SLUH.

Either way. Whatever works best for the middle school. Some schools weave the Clavius Project into their curriculum during the school day, while other schools offer it as an after-school program. 

Most schools meet once or twice per week.