COMMUNITY OUTREACH 2011
We’ve had a busy year!
Our FIRST Robotics Team 1923, The MidKnight Inventors, has been extremely busy over last year actively promoting science, engineering and, of course, FIRST Robotics! Beyond building our robot and promoting the team, we have spread the word of FIRST, science and engineering in our community in a variety of ways, including:
- Free Java Programming Classes
- Fundraisers/Awareness Events
- A New Ambassador Program
- Community Events/Open House
- Promoting FIRST Lego League
- FIRST Lego League Mentoring
- A New Community-based Build Site!
Free JAVA Programming Classes
To promote interest in computer science in our community, the MidKnight Inventors have given free Java Programming classes. Held on Sundays for eight weeks at the Plainsboro Library, our classes were open to the public. Providing these classes free at a local library provided an opportunity to those who wanted to learn about programming, regardless of age. The students – and adults – who attended learned the basics of coding from an FRC Team 1923 Parent Mentor who is a professional programmer.
Raising Awareness While Raising Funds
To raise team funds, we held a number of popular pizza sales after school, increasing team awareness. Outside of the school, we hosted a number of bake sales to both raise money and increase community awareness of FRC Team 1923 and FIRST. We learned it is important to do this on a regular basis to build interest and awareness of FIRST. We also sold Hex Bugs to target a younger audience to catch “FIRST Fever!”
A team favorite that we have participated in for three years is Plainsboro Founder’s Day, a community-wide event held annually in May. Manned by students and FIRST alumni, we have an information booth with our robot where we hand out brochures, collect email addresses, and have a game for children to interact with and learn about our robot. When they leave, the children beg to do more and ask how they can join a team. We use the email addresses to keep us connected with our community and encourage them to come to FIRST events and competitions.
Our Ambassador Program
In 2010 FIRST Robotics Team 1923 started a new Ambassador Program for the New Jersey Regional. In its first year, our program proved to be very successful in bringing more people to FIRST competitions.
We designed and printed FIRST Team 1923 VIP tickets that we gave to friends, teachers, sponsors, local business, and families. We followed up with email reminders about the event. When they arrived, we gave FRC 1923 VIP nametags to everyone, including the children. Our guests felt special. We gave them a tour that included the pits and practice area where the team ambassador tells them about FIRST, its mission, and explains the game.
We repeated the program for the 2011 New Jersey Regionals and once again a variety of people attended including media, elected officials, school administrators, team sponsors, friends, and family. Many children attended, seeing engineering in action, learning about FIRST, and experiencing the excitement of FIRST competitions.
Elementary School Outreach
We have reached out to the four West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District elementary schools and are actively involved in exhibiting and helping with their PTAs’ science fairs and events. This includes Town Center Elementary School’s Science Fair, Maurice Hawk Elementary School’s Science Fair, and Dutch Neck Elementary School’s Science Day. We also participated in Millstone River School’s Science Fair.
Promoting FIRST® Lego League
Our school district currently has only one FIRST® Lego League team. The MidKnight Inventors are working to increase the number of teams and the number of participating students. This spring, we held Lego Mindstorm Robotics classes for students ages 9 to 12 through West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Education. This is part of new Spring Classes for children and adults. In the first class, the students learn how to create a functional robot from a Lego Mindstorm kit. The second class features a friendly competition between the different build groups. With the success of these classes, we are now planning to conduct a summer camp. FIRST Robotics Team 1923 also mentors the West Windsor – Plainsboro Community Middle School FLL team.
Promoting Women in Science and Technology