On May 19, we attended the Uponor Volunteer Fair. Uponor is one of our largest sponsors, and this was an event held to promote community activism among their employees. We were honored to be invited on behalf of FIRST, High Tech Kids (the organization that runs FTC in Minnesota), and Apple Valley High School robotics. At the event, we spoke to Uponor employees about volunteer opportunities for FIRST through High Tech Kids and mentoring opportunities at Apple Valley High for up-and-coming robotics teams. FIRST and its robotics teams are always in need of volunteers, so this was a great way to convey that need to STEM professionals. We took down many names of people who wish to volunteer not only with the new robotics teams we hope to create at Apple Valley High this season but also with High Tech Kids at FIRST robotics events across the state of Minnesota.

Before we attended the World Championship last season, we were asked by Stratasys (a company that many FIRST teams buy their 3D printers from) to write a guest blog post on their website about how 3D printing was used by teams at Worlds. We were honored to do so on behalf of FIRST robotics teams everywhere and quickly set to work once in St. Louis for the competition. We walked around the pits, speaking to every team we could about how they utilized 3D printed parts in their robot design. As we later stated in our blog post, “we were hard-pressed to find a team that didn’t utilize this exciting technology in some way.” We recorded everything that other teams told us, and later gathered that the information together in the post which we then sent off to Stratasys. The post included observations about the doors 3D printing opens, different types of parts teams can print, the variety in size among parts, and much more. We thought this was a great way to promote FIRST to a widely-known STEM company. Since Stratasys is greatly involved with FIRST and sponsors High Tech Kids (the organization that runs FTC in Minnesota), it was an excellent way to show them the product of their investment. For the full article, visit this link:

 http://blog.stratasys.com/2016/06/24/3d-printing-robots-challenge/

On July 28 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, Cori attended a project management session at a local company called Skyline Displays while the rest of the team was back at Apple Valley HIgh School hosting our summer Arduino programming camp (see that entry for details). She attended the event alongside representatives from robotics teams across the district in both FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition. Speakers from Skyline presented throughout the day and the students worked in small groups on various projects. Overall, it was an extremely exciting experience that especially interested Cori, who is very interested in project management.

On December 7th, we went to a company called PGC (Precision Gasket Company) for a robot design review. We worked with them last season multiple times in the form of design reviews where we would visit their facilities and talk about our design while they gave constructive criticism. For this design review specifically, we focused on our particle scorer as that is our only mechanism that is still in the works. We discussed the transportation mechanism in particular while examining various designs of ramps, conveyor belts, and such. They even gave us a roll of special material to test for a possible conveyor belt mechanism. We greatly appreciated this wonderful opportunity to connect with STEM professionals.

On December 20, a group of Uponor employees making up part of the company’s Design and Production department visited our school for a design review. The Regal Kiwis, a fellow FTC team from our high school, were also present with their own robot. We spoke with them about our game challenge this year and how we’ve chosen to design our robot. They provided advice on our transportation mechanism and launching mechanism, but the main focus of the meeting was the Regal Kiwis because their competition was coming up sooner and they needed more help. We were very grateful to make this connection and get advice not only for our own team but also for a team that we’ve been mentoring for two years. It was also great to be able to continue our relationship with Uponor, who we have worked with throughout the year.

On December 21, we met with Micheli Controneo from C.H. Robinson discuss our team brand specifically in regards to our pit, buttons, Engineering Notebook, and most of all our Promote Video. Last season, we won the Promote Award at state (given to the team who can create the best 60 second clip answering a prompt from FIRST). This season, however, we were stuck for ideas and in need of advice. Micheli spoke with us about how we need to play off of two things: our team’s established brand and media forms people are already familiar with. We talked to him about using animation this year and how he uses Adobe After Effects to create his own animated videos. We greatly appreciated the advice that he provided and plan on inviting him back sometime this season.

On February 1, we went to a robot design review at a company called Precision Gasket Company or PGC. We had met with them on December 8 right before our second qualifier (Burnsville) for advice and ideas regarding our robot design (see previous entry for summary). State was just around the corner for this design review, so we showed them our conveyor belt and shooter prototypes. We explained our designs to them, and they gave constructive criticism. For example, we explained our rails on the particle scorer to them, and they talked to us about calculating the equation of the parabola so that we can determine angle, speed, and compression of the particles. It was a very helpful session, and their advice was very helpful. This was an excellent opportunity to continue our connection with a company we’ve worked with before. We also made sure to invite them to our state competition and hope to see them there.

On February 11 (the day of the Minnesota State Championship), we visited a company called C.H. Robinson. We had met with a C.H. Robinson representative before for a marketing review (see previous page), so it was our second time this season connecting with them. We invited a fellow all-female FTC team, the Rebellious Robots, from our local middle school. We thought this was a great way to help a team we mentor start to build their network of STEM professionals. We gave three presentations: one to their women’s group and two to their general employees. During both, the Rebellious Robots also spoke. In the first presentation (the one with their women’s group), we did a round circle discussion where we each introduced ourselves, then asked questions about each organization (C.H. Robinson and FIRST). This was extremely insightful for both parties, because we were able to learn about the company and careers we are interested in, while they were able to learn about FIRST and what we do as a robotics team. For the next two presentations, we had a PowerPoint prepared and spoke in front of groups of approximately 40 employees each. Since we hadn’t interacted very much with C.H. Robinson before this season, this was an exceptional opportunity to connect with great STEM professionals.

On February 16, our team attended the District 196 STEM Career Fair to demonstrate our robot and promote FIRST, STEM, and robotics to the many students and adults that came. The event was held at our school, Apple Valley High, and was the largest STEM Career Fair that the school district has ever had, with an estimated 2500 people in attendance. This number is amazing as there are about 1600 students at our own high school. Additionally, there were over 260 presenters from various STEM fields, each with a booth in the gymnasium so students could walk the fair and speak with STEM professionals. Several weeks before the Fair, we met with Kris Roberts, the site manager, to talk about the marketing elements of the event including signs, brochures, and the door prizes. We offered advice based on our experiences marketing as a team. We spoke with students about what we do and how to get involved with STEM at Apple Valley High. We had at least one person at the booth at all times, and we switched out to ensure that everyone had time to enjoy the fair. Two of us helped to set up the Fair, directing presenters to their booths and helping them get anything they needed. A few of our members also volunteered to give tours of the school’s Fabrication Lab during the event. Marie spent some of her time in the Thomson Reuters booth presenting about her experiences as an intern in digital marketing. We also helped with tear down and clean up. Our team members were the last to leave after the night, and one of us ended up volunteering for 8 hours straight. The STEM Fair was a huge success, and all of us had a great time talking to the local STEM professionals at the event. It was a great way to connect with so many professionals from companies that are truly invested in our community.

Every year, there is an award ceremony to recognize young women in high school involved STEM activities. The Aspirations in Computing awards are given at multiple different levels, ranging from certificate of distinction to National winner. The event, hosted by the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), serves to recognize and support these young women to continue their efforts in STEM fields, also providing them opportunities to connect with real life STEM professionals, and giving applicants a chance to participate in an internship at one of these companies. This year, four of our members were recognized as winners at different levels. Connie was a recipient of a certificate of distinction, Emily a State-Runner up, Marie a State winner, and Atalanta a National Runner-up. Atalanta was also a keynote speaker at the event.

After our successful RES-Q season, the mayor of Apple Valley invited us to the State of the City address, in which she honors the achievements of our city from the past year and details what is to come. We, along with two FRC teams from the city, drove our robot down the center of the room and were honored by Mayor Mary. She spoke about our accomplishments and how this is setting not only our team up for success, but also our entire community. This was an incredible experience and a huge honor. In our city, Mayor Mary is a household name equivalent with trust and kindness. To have her speak of us with such kind words was an enormous honor. We loved being able to reach out into the community of Apple Valley, Minnesota and be recognized for our season.

On May 26, we were invited to a meeting with Senator Clausen. Last season, we had worked closely with the Senator on a bill to put three million dollars into STEM education for students across the state of Minnesota. We had gone into the Minnesota State Capitol twice to testify on behalf of the bill and even helped author an amendment. It, unfortunately, did not pass Congress. The Senate, however, still wanted to recognize us for our work and also for our award at Worlds so they issued a Senate Proclamation in honor of what we had done. Senator Clausen presented us with this proclamation in the principal’s conference room at our school, and we were beyond honored. It was something that we had never expected or even considered as a possibility, and that made it all the more special.

Our school district, ISD 196, has always been very supportive towards us about FIRST robotics. In previous seasons, we often met with the Superintendent Jane Berenz and various district representatives. The district is also very interested in what robotics means to its students, so they invited us to present at the District Board Meeting on June 13th. On June 12th, we meet with all the others teams that would be presenting at this event including FTC team the Q is Silqent, FRC team Blue Twilight, FRC team Knights of the Valley, and others. We put together the presentation slides and then practiced them. The next day, we arrived at the District Board Meeting where our presentation was almost the first thing on their docket. We filled up the whole gymnasium with members from teams all across the district. We spoke with the board about FIRST, FIRST in 196, the impact of robotics on our lives, and our community outreach. We loved being able to show the people who create real change on a local level what we’re passionate about.

We decided to kick this summer off with an exciting, educational, and inspiring trip to Washington, D.C. by participating in the third annual FIRST National Advocacy Conference hosted by FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team 27 Team Rush. We were not only the sole FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team present, but also the only all-female team, which made us proud to represent these two very important elements of our team. The first day of our trip was filled with sightseeing; from Capitol Hill to the Washington Monument, from the Smithsonian to the Lincoln Memorial we saw all that we could. On the second and third days, we partook in the conference portion of our trip where we learned about the basics of government, FIRST’s legislative goals on Capitol Hill, and how to speak with legislators. We also worked in collaboration with FRC teams Green Machine 1816, Duluth East Daredevils 2512, and KnightKrawler 2052 to create outlines for our meetings with senators and representatives the next day. Once the fourth day arrived, it was finally time for us to go to work on Capitol Hill advocating for full funding of Section IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act which would put money into mentor-based STEM activities in schools (similar to our own robotics team). We began the day by speaking with Senator Al Franken (who had authored the piece of legislation we were advocating for) about how FIRST has impacted our lives and why students care about the bill he is trying to get full funding for. From Franken’s office, we walked down the street to the Department of Labor. They asked us to present for a group of representatives about FIRST, STEM, and a program at our school called E3 STEM (which provides students with real-life career advice, internship opportunities, and college classes). E3 STEM is funded by a DOL grant, and five of our six team members are members.

On September 24th, our team went to the first ever Minnesota Advocacy Conference for FIRST robotics. It was hosted by FIRST Robotics Competition team 1816 Green Machine of Edina. There we listened to multiple different presenters, including State Senator Melisa Franzen, AP Government teacher at Edina (Valley View) Middle School Erik Anderson, and  STEM integration specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education Doug Paulson. After that, we went up and presented on our own experiences in government and answered any questions that teams had for us. We spoke specifically to how we’ve testified for STEM education bills three times at the Minnesota state government, were presented with a Senate resolution for our work by Senator Clausen, and attended the FIRST National Advocacy Conference this summer in Washington. D.C.. It was a great opportunity for us and we can’t wait to follow up!

On February 6, the entire team visited the Minnesota State Senate building. At 2:30 p.m., we met with Senator Clausen in his office to discuss his STEM education bill. It would establish a grant program for three million dollars where high schools could apply to create programs with various STEM courses. We also discussed our season so far and what bills he’s been working on for this congressional session. At 3:00 p.m., we headed down to a committee room for the Minnesota State Senate. Senator Clausen began by introducing the bill and speaking about his reasons for authoring it. He then turned it over to us so we could testify to the committee about the profound impact STEM education has had on our lives. Atalanta and Marie specifically spoke about the impact that robotics and E3 STEM (a grant program at our school) have guided their lives. The senators made a few comments, and we headed out. Senator Clausen thanked us for coming to testify and promised to keep us updated on the bill’s journey. We were extremely grateful to be able to share the impact of STEM for us and hopefully help make a difference for other students as well.

On February 15, we returned to the Minnesota State Capitol to testify for the three million dollar STEM education bill explained in the entry above. This time, however, we were testifying for its sister bill: an identical piece of legislation that is in the House of Representatives instead of the Senate. We were invited there by Representative Sondra Erickson, the author of the House bill. She introduced the bill, then had a Project Lead the Way representative testify regarding the possible applications of the grants. We followed up by first speaking about our robotics team (Cori), then detailing our experiences in robotics and the E3 STEM (see above) education program at our school (Connie, Barbara, and Emily). Atalanta and Marie also had the opportunity to speak by answering questions about how they became interested in STEM and robotics. This was the most engaged session for public policy testimony that we’ve ever had, and it was a fantastic experience.

Right after the awesome interview with 93X, the rest of the Maidens went back to school while Marie (who is mostly homeschooled) attended the 2016 Makers Faire to demonstrate our robot and interact with students whom got to attended the faire before it officially began the following day. High Tech Kids (the organization that runs FTC in Minnesota) was there presenting as well, so Marie was able to have the robot drive around a game field and let kids drive it. She met a bunch of awesome, creative kids, some of which gave her a few ideas as to what this year's robot could have. Marie even spoke with a couple of kids who were or are currently a part of a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team. It was extremely nice to talk one-on-one with kids of all ages and watch as they started to engineer in their minds what our robot could do, or how they could make it better. Marie is thankful she got the opportunity to go to this event spread the word about STEM and FIRST robotics to her peers.

In the evening of May 13, we finished off the day with a third outreach event at Glacier Hills Elementary School for their Science Night. We demoed our robot in the library of the school alongside FTC team the Q is Silqent and FRC team Cobalt Catalysts. We had our display of the posterboard, handouts, the Engineering Notebook, and signs to show people what our team does. Along with this, we demoed Zumo Bots borrowed from our school as well as the robot we built for the Res-Q game challenge of last season, Lady Steel. We spoke to the young students and their parents walking by, telling them about the impact FIRST and robotics have had on our lives. We made up a game with the children where they had to try to keep Lady away from Cori and Barbara as the two Maidens tried to put climbers on the robot. Atalanta showed the children how to drive our robot while Connie, Emily, and Marie demoed the Zumo Bots. We had a great time talking to all of the students and making them laugh as Cori and Barbara chased the robot around. We had attended this event last year, and it was wonderful to continue our impact on this community.

On May 14, we attended the Makers Faire at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds to demo our robot on behalf of High Tech Kids. High Tech Kids is the organization that runs FTC, FLL, and FLL, Jr. in Minnesota. They coordinate outreach events and tournaments. We were there alongside FTC team 6389 the Lazybotts, allowing kids to drive our robots around on a game field from last season’s challenge, RES-Q. We spoke with the kids and their parents about FIRST and how to get involved. It was a great way to reach out to the community and show people who are interested what FIRST is about.

On Saturday, May 21, three of the Maidens volunteered at a programming workshop being hosted at our school, Apple Valley High. We knew some of the coordinators, and they set us up at various stations to help elementary schoolers from around the district learn basic programming skills. At one station, two of the Maidens used iPads, a drag-and-drop app, and small robots to help kids figure out how basic programming works. It was a great way to reach out into the community and show kids that anyone can code. It was also very fun to be able to watch as kids figured out the code and saw their own success.

From Tuesday to Thursday, July 26th to July 28th, we were busy teaching young girls in 3th to 6th grade at our Maiden Voyage Arduino Programming Summer Camp. The camp, sponsored through an AspireIT grant, was put on through a partnership between the Iron Maidens and AdvanceIT MN in order to get girls interested in programming, engineering, and electrical fields. With this introduction course to Arduino and related programming, the girls completed various projects with instructions we gave. These projects ranged from making a light blink to programming the Arduino to play a song. In addition to learning about Arduinos, we also had two separate talks with them about “Girls in STEM” where we discussed gender roles and how to advocate for themselves and their peers. On the final day, we brought in four STEM professionals (including a successful IT businesswoman, a drone programmer, a video game designer, and Cheryl from High Tech Kids) for a panel about their careers and how these girls can apply what they learned to their lives. In addition, we helped them to make vinyl stickers in our school’s FAB Lab to put on bags provided by AspireIT. The camp itself received high remarks from everyone involved: the parents, students, our team, and partners all enjoyed their time with this camp. In order to continue the girls’ learning after leaving to return home on the last day, they were allowed to keep their Arduinos and kit of parts. The main goal was not just to teach them how to build and program with Arduino, but instead to spark an interest in these fields that would hopefully last a lifetime.

On August 25, 2016, we had the opportunity to attend STEM day at the Minnesota State Fair on behalf of High Tech Kids, the lead organization of FLL and FTC in MN. We were excited to come back again, as we did this same event in our last season, to talk to children and adults alike about FIRST  and how to get involved in robotics. Alongside FTC teams 3387 I.C.E, 7588 The Pride, and 10617 Mechatech, we demonstrated our robot from the Res Q season. It was great to see a large interest in the robots as many visitors wanted to drive them. Just in case our robot broke down, as it did last year, we also brought two Ollies. All in all, we had a great time demonstrating at the Minnesota State Fair and are enthusiastic about coming again next year.

On September 17th, we demoed our robot at the Works Museum for an event called Girl Time. We were able to have three team members there at all time, since Cori and Connie stayed the whole time while Barbara attended in the morning before switching out with Atalanta at noon. Since our competition robot had been dismantled, we let the many children at the event drive around our two Ollies as well as a BB8-themed Sphero. We spoke with them about what FIRST is, what we do as a robotics team, and how STEM has impacted our lives. It was great to be able to attend an event in the community where we were specifically reaching out to young girls.

On November 14th, the entire team attended an event held at our school, Apple Valley High School. The AVHS STEM Pathway event was put on to showcase the efforts that the school has gone through to improve learning through STEM. It featured many different STEM displays, such as Rube Goldberg machines, CPR demonstrations, and even an animal science booth from the School of Environmental Studies. The event was open to the general public, and many parents and children attended. During the event, we let children drive our competition robot Duchess Steel, as well as our school’s Spheros and our team’s Ollies and MakeBlock robot. We had our poster board and display there as well to inform parents and teachers about our involvement in the STEM community.

On December 23, we volunteered to speak to two AVID classes at our high school about how to structure, format, and present sponsorship pitches. AVID stands for Advanced Via Individual Determination. It is “a program to prepare students in the academic middle for four-year college eligibility. It has a proven track record in bringing out the best in students, and in closing the achievement gap.” The ninth grade AVID classes are working on a variety of projects to improve areas around the school and will be making pitches for support to the school administration and local businesses. We visited their classroom to give an example presentation, as though we were presenting to a company. By demonstrating to them as well as answering any questions they had, we were able to give them a good starting place, as well as tips, tricks, and strategies. Additionally, we gave them some sample “leave behinds” including our brochure, sponsorship one pager, business cards, etc. in order to give an example of things they can make to leave a longer-lasting impression.

On January 19, half of the team went to the Cedar Park Elementary School Family Engineering Night. (The rest of the team was at our Thursday build meeting.) We brought two Ollies and a MakeBlock robot to have children drive around and play with. Our competition robot, Duchess Steele, also made an appearance. We had a table with our display, brochures, and business cards for students and their parents to look at. Next to the table was a ten foot square of section off floor for kids to drive the robots around in. Each Maiden had one line for the robot they were watching. This was a great opportunity to connect with the community in a more traditional way and promote robotics for young students.

On February 2, Atalanta and Cori attended the Rosemount Elementary School STEM Night. They brought along the two team Ollies and one MakeBlock robot. Duchess Steele, our competition robot, was unable to make it because the rest of the team was using her at the Thursday night build meeting. They allowed students to drive the robots around while parents looked at the display of information on robotics. The booth next to us was the FIRST LEGO League program at Rosemount Elementary School, so we were able to direct students who were interested in robotics over to the FLL director. We loved being able to see the spark of interest in each kid’s eye as they figured out how to move the robots and have them complete tasks. This was a great way to connect with a community (Rosemount) that we don’t often have the ability to reach at other local events.

On February 24, we attended the Family Engineering Night at Echo Park Elementary School. We were invited there by Monica Foss, who we have worked with in the past for robot demos at Echo Park. We brought along our outreach bots, two Ollies and a MakeBlock, for the students to drive around. We also brought our display including our competition robot, prototype particle shooter, brochures, business cards, and poster board. Students were able to drive the outreach bots around the gym floor while parents looked at our display and we answered their questions. Two of our members, Emily and Cori, were especially happy to attend this event because they are proud Echo Park Penguin alumni. This was a great event in terms of connecting with the community since we were able to interact with elementary school children who many eventually attend Apple Valley High School. A lot of them live between Valley Middle School (our feeder middle school) and another middle school. Those that go to VMS are exceptionally more likely to attend AVHS eventually, so this was a great way to show the students and their parents all of the great things happening at Apple Valley High School.

On March 1, a few of our team members went to a leadership conference run by an organization called Youth Frontiers. The purpose of the event was to inspire young students with potential to be leaders in their school and community. Atalanta, Barbara, Connie, and Marie are all a part of the E3 STEM Leadership Team and were invited to represent Apple Valley High School at the conference. They spent most of the day interacting with over a hundred other students and hearing their stories. The best part of the conference, however, was when they had the chance to share the opportunities they have had through STEM as well as the skills they have learned by being a part of FIRST robotics.