I’m kicking myself for forgetting to take pictures, because last weekend I had the pleasure of volunteering at a high school robotics competition that was being held at my university. The competition was through Lego FTC (First Tech Challenge). I was brand new to this whole world of competitive robotics but I had a great time volunteering.
There are two parts of the competition, building the robot to perform a number of tasks and then another component where the kids give a presentation to a panel of judges about their challenge. I got to judge these presentations and I have to say that I’m so impressed with our next generation of engineers. These kids were from all over the local area, from very rural areas to the most urban schools. They all had unique ideas and perspectives and I was so fascinated with how the program helped them develop incredible STEM skills as well as learning to present and document their work and ideas.
I hope to be able to volunteer again, and the next time I promise to take pictures!