In addition to the various other outreach activities that we have planned this season, we also hosted a demo for Boy Scout Troop 27 on March 31, 2017. There, we introduced the game rules and our strategies to the scouts, while exposing them to the concept of FIRST. The scouts were very intrigued by our robots, as many of them have never seen anything like them. The experience was an eye-opening one for them, since not only did they learn about the fundamental principles of engineering and computer science, but they also had the opportunity to drive the robots.
We began our demonstration by giving a brief presentation on the purpose of FIRST and why gracious professionalism is such an important motto to live by, both in and out of robotics. Many principles of gracious professionalism align with Boy Scout ideology, since both emphasize the importance of good sportsmanship, trust, resourcefulness, and performing at one’s full potential. As a result of this similarity, many of the scouts were able quickly understand this concept.
Our team continued by introducing the season’s game, Velocity Vortex, so that the Scouts would know the game rules prior to the actual gameplay portion of the demonstration. The Scouts were quite frisky when it came to listening to the presentation, probably because they couldn’t wait to drive the robots. Eventually, we managed to grab their attention by screening a couple of videos from past competitions, as well as a dance that we had programmed our robot to do.
We ended the night by giving the Scouts an opportunity to drive both of our robots. Allen and Justin instructed them on the controls, which they were quick to pick up. Most of them were able to score particles into the goals, and some of them were even skilled enough to score the cap ball, despite us omitting that part from the presentation.