Everything was a flash! The buzz, the people walking by, the happy and intrigued faces of elementary schoolers approaching a robot zooming around. The vibe of the Alisal Elementary School Science Fair 2024 was just too good to be expressed!
On April 11th, 2024, TEAM X headed to Alisal Elementary to school in Pleasanton, CA, to spread the fun of robotics and STEM at the school's science fair. The team got to the school an hour early to set-up. As early visitors were walking in, it was evident, their eyes were on us. 5PM hit and the MPR was bustling like anything. Parents, students, staff, organizers, the school principal were all there - everyone was having a great time.
Our TEAM X robot was placed on a mat and being driven around to collect pixels (these hexagon items) and drop them into a box. It was the biggest attraction for the students. Additionally, the team set up a presentation, trifold posters, and Lego Robots left from when TEAM X previously had participated in FLL (First Lego League), a robotics competition mainly for elementary schoolers. Parents seeing their children so interested in our set-up, also couldn't wait to learn more. The team started to explain to parents how their elementary schoolers can also get started in FLL and how we could help organize and start a team for them. With our rich experience in FLL, we could offer mentorship and donate lego parts to support the new teams and kickstart their robotics journey.
Working hard until 7 PM the team really made an impact on many, many, people that day. With over 75 people enjoying our booth, it wasn't hard to give ourselves a pat on the back for the success of the day.
One of the greatest things that made this event successful was the interest sparked by the young ones at the fair. Most elementary schoolers were completely new to the field of robotics, they viewed robots as a cartoon, or they simply didn't know a thing about robotics but when we allowed them to observe the robot and allow them to drop pixels on the mat for the robot to pick-up there could be nothing more beautiful than seeing the elementary schoolers smile and be confident that they would be willing to join competing in robotics.
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