With the Model-2 robot trainer ready, it was time to work with the public schools.  On two Fridays, February 6 and 13, students from Mr. Seldomridge’s class at Granite Falls Middle School came to FCW for a robot build session.

With assistance from Rich, Michelle, Bruce, and Gene, each student assembled a Model-2 robot, which they could then keep.  There were a total of 24 students in the two classes  of two hours, and all were successful builds.  Starting with the “fun” of snapping the servos into the side panels, the students added the tail skid and internal braces, then bolted the chassis together.  They then added the circuit board and assembled the wheel “sandwiches”.  With the addition of the battery pack, they were ready to go.  Many of the students took the robots to the common area for them to roam.  It looked like giant roaches running around as up to ten robots roamed around the room, avoiding obstacles and dancing in sync.  With terms like “awesome” students had a great time with the hands-on experience and left with smiles on their faces.

On Thurdsay, February 12, twelve students from Mr. Bingham’s class at South Caldwell High School also had a robot build session.   The older students needed less assistance, but still had a great time   Mr. Bingham joined his students in building a robot and obtained  additional units for use in class.  These students were given the assignment to develop additional programs for the robot during the remainder of the school session.

FCW is pleased to be able to help the schools with STEM projects and plans additional sessions and projects for the future.  Similar sessions are available to homeschool groups, scout troops, etc. as well.  If you have a group that would be interested in the robots or STEM in general, contact FCW for details.