Innovate with Innov8rz: Outreach Events
Bay Area Science Festival
November 3, 2018
The Bay Area Science Festival is one of the biggest STEM conventions in the Bay Area, and we met so many excited kids throughout the day! While some kids learned all about FLL and FTC at our booth, others played basketball and catch with our Velocity Vortex robot. Visitors learned about the different pieces and started building many cool designs. We also taught lessons informing the kids how to build a tank robot or a remote-controllable car.
Claremont Branch Berkeley Public Library
August 20-22, 2018
Once again, we were able to return to the Claremont Branch Library in Berkeley to teach even more interested students! The attendees built a robot and a claw in addition to learning how to program the robot as well as the sensors. During our intro presentation, they were captivated by the parts of the kits and couldn’t wait to start working with the EV3 kits. At the end of the day, the kids created their own games using touch sensors and went home inspired to continue LEGO robotics.
Newark Library Week 2
August 20-22, 2018
The second week of our classes at the Newark Library had just as many curious and driven children as the previous one! After a short lesson on the components of an EV3 kit, the eager kids immediately began learning about building a robot and a claw, as well as how to program using the EV3 education software. Once completed, the kids were able to understand the process of building and programming the robot and its attachments in preparation for the mini FLL challenge at the end of the week!
Newark Library Week 1
August 13-15, 2018
With the help of the Newark Library, we were able to organize and set up a three-day continuous course at the Newark Library where we taught the participants from the basics of building and programming a robot to complete FLL challenges. Throughout the week, we had a large audience, who were genuinely excited to dive into robotics! At the end of the week, all groups were able to perform many awesome FLL challenges!
Mentoring Legobots
August 11, 2018
We recently inspired the formation of a new FLL team called Legobots in San Ramon. The 4th graders were eager to get started with the EV3 kit, and we helped them understand the basics about building a base robot, as well as programming motion and sensors. We will continue to mentor the team consistently during the current season. It fulfills our goal to give back to the community and inspire the next generation of prospective FTC and FRC students.
Claremont Branch Library National Night Out
August 7, 2018
This was a very exciting event which gave us the opportunity to bring the inspiration to the roads…quite literally! It was a National Night Out, and the Claremont Branch of the Berkeley Public Libraries had organized a street fair, and invited us to join them and spread the awareness for STEM and robotics. We set up our booth and attracted over 50 people who were really excited about FIRST, and wanted to learn lots about FTC and FLL.
Helping a Coach Start a FTC Team in China
August 3, 2018
In this part of China, most students do not participate in exciting extra-curricular activities such as robotics. However, one coach is trying to bring the FIRST Tech Challenge competition to students here, and wanted to meet with us so that he could understand the competition, team structure, organization, and the robot game itself. We are staying in touch with this coach and have offered to help in any way possible.
FTC Development Project at Google
July 23, 2018
Google invited NorCal FTC teams to their offices to help work on a FTC development project. We volunteered to help out, and played rounds of a sample FTC game with multiple types of scoring elements and recorded videos for data collection.
Pune, India
July 2018
During the summer, we taught many students in a rural area near Pune, India. During the two sessions, we were able to help over 25 kids learn how to build and program robots using the EV3 platform. Kids in this area usually do not have access to these opportunities, but we were able to spark their interest in robotics. We are in touch with the teachers and working to inspire the formation of an FLL team.
Bay Area Child Care Center
July 5 and July 24, 2018
At the Bay Area Child Care Center, we taught many kids about the different types of sensors, motors, and how to build a claw. In addition to the new knowledge they were gaining, the kids were much more inspired after watching the claw they made come to life. We had previously created a program that allowed us to open and close the claw manually. After demonstrating the objective of the program, the kids became excited to write their own program to control their newly-built claw.
Mentoring HiveMinds
July 1, 2018
We met with a local rookie FTC team called HiveMinds, and shared how our team is structured as well as how divisions of the team operate. They were a new team and wanted to understand how to structure their team and work better as a group. We also explained how we designed our custom parts and offered to help them during the season.
Northside Branch Library
June 29 and July 6, 2018
At Northside Branch Library, we introduced the kids to the FIRST organization, and the FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge competitions. We also taught the kids how to build and program using the Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit. The kids were able to programmatically move the robot and intelligently adjust their path using various sensors. In addition, they built a claw mechanism and programmed it to pick up various objects from the field. Our starter program is structured for 2 two-hour sessions, which has been quite effective in motivating the kids and capturing their interest.
FTCquel at Maker Faire 2018
May 19-20, 2018
We went to the FTCquel at Maker Faire, where we participated in the tournament, and talked to many people about robotics, FIRST Tech Challenge, and the Relic Recovery challenge. We also showed our robot’s autonomous and driver control capabilities, and ended up being the Finalist Alliance! In the end, this was a exciting weekend!
Union City Library
August 10 and 17, 2017
At Union City Library, we taught the children how to build and program a FLL robot. We taught them how to construct a basic claw, and how to program it. We also taught them the basics of the FLL competition. In total, we taught two outreach sessions. We saw that the children were all extremely interested in robotics and had a genuine passion for building and programming these EV3 robots. In total, we motivated 31 children to learn about robotics at the Union City Library.
Shreemaya Temple
August 9 and 14, 2017
At the Shreemaya Krishnadham Temple, we taught the children how to create and program FLL robots. We used our interactive curriculum to teach the children how to effectively program their robots and their effectors. Towards the middle of our first session, a group of children came up to us and asked us how to start their own FLL team, as they were really excited to compete. They went on to create an FLL team named Robowarriors. In their rookie year, the team placed 6th place at their first FLL qualifier and we are extremely proud of their success. In total, we motivated 32 children to pursue their passion for robotics at these events.
Newark Library
August 6 and 13, 2017
We taught children at Newark Library the basics of how to build and program FLL robots. The children learned how to create a base robot for FLL competition, and the children during this session were very excited in the programming aspect of our curriculum. Using our hands-on approach, we taught kids how to program their robot to follow a line, how to detect colors, and how to say various animal noises. In total, we motivated 25 children to pursue their passion for robotics.
Veda Temple
August 5 and 12, 2017
We went to the Veda Temple, and taught the basics of FLL robotics, including both building and programming. In total, we taught a total of 32 children in our 2 sessions at the temple. Towards the end of our second event, a group of elementary school students wanted to start a Junior FLL team. They were excited about the competition and wanted to tackle the challenge right away. We helped them through the process, and the kids formed a team, called Legoleader.
Hyderabad, India
July 2017
During summer break, we educated multiple students in a rural area near Hyderabad, India. During the two sessions, we were able to help the kids learn how to build and program robots using the EV3 platform. Children in this area normally do not have access to STEM education, but our sessions allowed these kids to discover their hidden excitement and passion for robotics.
San Shui, China
July 2017
Over summer break, we taught five children in China. In two sessions, one focused on programming, and the other focused on building, the kids gained complete knowledge of constructing an EV3 robot by themselves. In the area that we hosted a seminar in, children usually have very little exposure to robotics, and it is viewed not as an educational opportunity, but as mechanisms and tools in the industry. By hosting an outreach in this area, we were able to spark interest and spread knowledge of FIRST in international areas.
FTCquel at Maker Faire 2017
May 20-21, 2017
We went to the FTCquel at Maker Faire, where we participated in the tournament, and talked to many people about robotics, FIRST Tech Challenge, and the Velocity Vortex challenge. We also showed our robot’s autonomous and driver control capabilities, and ended up being the Finalist Alliance! In the end, this was a exciting weekend!
FIRST Panorama
March 4, 2017
We went to FIRST Panorama, where we outreached to FLL teams and to members of the public interested, talked about joining FIRST, and explained how to start a team. We demonstrated our robot’s capabilities, and answered questions about our CAD design, programming, robot setup, and tournaments. Later, we gave a presentation to those who are curious about FTC. Overall, this was a wonderful experience!
World’s Fair Nano
January 29, 2017
We went to World’s Fair Nano, an exhibition of cool gadgets and technology, such as virtual reality, drones, and of course, the state-of-the-art robots from FLL and FTC teams! We spent our day talking to many entrepreneurs, tech-lovers, and kids. We promoted FIRST, talked about this year’s challenge, Velocity Vortex, and gave live demonstrations of our robot!
Cub Scouts
December 4, 2016
We outreached to Scouts Den 3 of Pack 152. We talked about the benefits of FTC, and that robotics is a really fun and rewarding experience, where we have learned a lot. The kids were excited to learn about the Velocity Vortex challenge, and how our robot plans to achieve the goals. They got a chance to collect and shoot the particles, and they really had a blast!