2/22/20
ARES was invited to help out at the Nevada State Championships along with ACME and another Reno team. Due to an abundance of volunteers, we ended up helping out wherever we were needed, but also got to check out and socialize with the other teams. We really enjoyed experiencing the other side of robotics competitions, and are planning on going back next year.
FLL Team:
During the school year, ARES mentors an FLL team with the Mount st. Marys middle schoolers. One of the parents on the team teaches at Mount St. Marys, and was happy to help mentor their team along with our help. They helped us put on a tournament at their school, and they did well, but one of the other schools participating won.
1/19/20:
ARES hosted an open house along with ACME to reach out into the community and give sponsors a chance to see and drive this years robot. We invited members from local FLL teams to give them a look at FTC, and see if they would be interested in joining ARES or ACME. We talked to parents about FTC as well, and gave an overview of this years challenge. However, not many middle schoolers came, but there were many younger kids who are now very interested in joining a FIRST program.
12/19/19:
Our team went into our local radio station after our first tournament, and we presented on the air about the tournament and our team. We went on during the thursday morning show, and the host interviewed us to help make an impact in our community. We talked about how our team started, and other FIRST leagues for younger kids, hopefully to interest other youth in our community to get into robotics.
12/6/19:
We volunteered at a tournament for the local FLL teams in Nevada county. At one point during the tournament, we went and talked to the different teams in hopes of recruiting 8th graders to join our team next year. Four local teams showed up to compete and gain experience for their next tournament, they all presented their projects to us and the audience got to vote on which team had the most relatable issue.
10/19/19:
ARES robotics helped run a booth at the united way fundraiser in Penn Valley. We showed kids an FTC drivebase and let kids drive the robot around. We also informed people about FIRST’s leagues and what was happening with our upcoming season, as well as opportunities in our community.
8/9/19:
ARES and ACME robotics presented at the nevada county fair, we talked about our team and FIRST in the hope of recruiting new members, preferably girls as we were an all male team, and lots of girls aren’t into robotics. We brought the robot from our FIRST Rover Ruckus season, and let kids drive it around to get a feel of what it could do. We also let the community know about how FIRST provides helpful opportunities for youth to learn more about robotics, managing your time, and working on the business aspect of a job or company.
6/24/19:
Over the summer, ARES volunteered at a summer camp for kids who were interested in FLL or learning about robotics. One of the members of the software team, Jason, taught at the camp at one of our local schools, and nine kids ended up attending. He taught them how to do some basic mindstorm assembling, coding, and challenge completing. At the end they had a decent understanding of how FLL worked, and some of the kids were interested in joining or helping to start a team.
4/6/19:
ARES helped run a booth at the Nevada County STEAM expo, where we presented our robot and explained what/how we had done in our rookie season with FIRST. There were lots of other booths at the expo, and we had a slideshow going with pictures of our team to educate and inform people of our team.
