OUTREACH
The goal in outreach is to encourage students to explore FIRST and the STEM world and make an impact to the community. Here are the ways in which we have inspired and impacted our community with FIRST.
NOVA PLAYLABS -
STEM SESSIONS
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While looking for outreach opportunities, we received an offer from Nova Playlabs. Susan graciously provided us with their space to meet in exchange for four 30-minute sessions on each Thursday from 10 - 12 throughout the summer. We did this for a total of 8 days (32 sessions).
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This outreach opportunity gave the kids a taste of what FTC is like and encouraged them to consider doing robotics in the future. Our team successfully introduced STEM to an estimate of around 50-100 kids.
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Here we showed the kids how a 3D printer works, in addition to the basics of designing in CAD.
This was our first session where the kids looked at the coding of our robot from Rover Ruckus.
In order to simulate the coming season during that time (Skystone), we challenged the kids to build the tallest paper tower that they could using tape and two sheets of paper.
Here we showed the kids how a 3D printer works, in addition to the basics of designing in CAD.
NOVA LABS -SUGO BOTS
Sugo-Bots is an Outreach program provided by Nova Labs directed towards children in elementary school. It's a STEM course designed to teach various mechanical concepts such as gears, a robot's center of gravity, and friction/traction. The bots are pre-programmed so that the children can focus on the mechanical aspects.
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This particular event lasted five days. Each day, the kids got to explore something new.
NOVA LABS -
GIRL SCOUTS
This was a great outreach opportunity that we received during a regular meeting at Nova Labs. On the other side of the room was a group of Girl Scouts working to receive their STEM badges. One of our coaches seized the opportunity to introduce our team and FTC to them. During this presentation we showed them our robot, which easily caught their attention. We also brought up how we incorporated Fusion 360 to design various parts of our robot and how FIRST invites all students of various ages to participate in the STEM world. The scouts were very intrigued and excited about the idea of being in FLL, so we gave them information about Nova Labs and how to join FLL.
NOVA LABS -
OPEN HOUSE
This open house was hosted by Nova Labs to all that were interested in FLL and FTC. Over the span of one afternoon, we introduced ourselves, our robot, and a basic guide to FTC. We also showcased some of the technology and software that we use, like roadrunner and CAD. Afterwards, we showcased our robot and its abilities and listened to any questions that the children might have had. This open house was a major success, starting multiple new FTC and FLL teams, as well as planting seeds of interest in many future FTC participants.
NOVA PLAYLABS - TRICK OR TREATING
Another outreach opportunity at Nova Playlabs - We were invited to showcase our team and robot to the kids during their Halloween trick-or-treating.
We first introduced our team to them and then explained First Tech Challenge, as well as the features of our robot. We did not bring our robot from last year, but instead we used a prototype of our robot for the 2020 Ultimate Goal season.
The kids were enthusiastic about our robot as we handed out candies to them. Some were intrigued and asked us questions about the robot.
We're hoping that this experience pushes them towards FLL/FTC/FRC.
NOVA PLAYLABS - ROBOT DISPLAY
In this outreach, we offered the kids something that they certainly appreciated- a hands-on experience. We introduced FTC, as well as displayed the current season's introductory video. After that, we allowed the kids to observe and even drive the robot, allowing them to experience the driving and human-controlled aspect of robotics. We hope that we can inspire the younger generation to carry on FTC robotics.
