Celebrating National Robotics Week

Robotics has exploded in popularity in recent years, both in the classroom and as an extracurricular activity. In recognition of its growing importance in a wide variety of applications, National Robotics Week, also known as RoboWeek, is celebrated April 5-13. It serves to inspire students to get involved in robotics and STEM-related fields and to share the excitement of robotics with audiences of all ages.

Recently, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education caught up with the Harlan Community School District's robotics team, #9543 Cyclone Robotics, during the FIRST Robotics Competition Iowa Regional on March 28 in Cedar Falls. This year's competition, Reefscape by the Haas Foundation, included underwater-themed obstacles for the robots to complete.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which encompasses FIRST Lego League, FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition, provides PK-12 youth the opportunity to explore engineering and technology through hands-on activities and challenges. All three FIRST programs have been past Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program providers. Additionally, several of our STEM BESTⓇ Program model partner schools participate in FIRST robotics.

Like many robotics teams, the Cyclone Robotics team functions as its own entity complete with technical builders who build or modify the robots and a media team responsible for photography and newsletters to keep the community informed. The team is responsible for their own business and finance planning as well, relying on community support for funding. The benefits of participating in FIRST go well-beyond just coding and technology.

“It’s rewarding to see how the lessons in our STEM program feed into other areas of the school, and not just strictly within our STEM area,” said Sarah Fink, District Technology Integrationist for Harlan. “A lot of the coding and computer science components that we’ve received from the STEM BESTⓇ Program or STEM Scale-Up Program have greatly impacted the knowledge base of our students.”

“By receiving STEM Best and STEM Scale-ups, we have expanded middle school and high school offerings for students,” said Kyleigh Kumm, STEM and computer science teacher at Harlan High School. “We have provided an opportunity for these students to learn while having fun.”

Participation in STEM programs like FIRST and the STEM Council’s STEM BESTⓇ Program or STEM Scale-Up Program have helped to inspire students in Harlan to pursue STEM college and career pathways after graduation from high school.

When asked what he wants to do after high school, senior member and team captain Cory Ryan hopes to stay connected to the fun and challenges FIRST and robotics has exposed him to.

“Work in IT and do this for fun,” Ryan said, referring to his hopes to mentor a high school robotics program in the future.

Other students noted how participation in STEM programs has them wanting to pursue a variety of careers including architecture, medical science and engineering.

“I’m doing a college math class for engineering right now,” said CJ Lawson, one of the senior members responsible for helping build and wire the team’s robot. “I’m interested in that or the trades, and I’m especially interested in electrical. I like to see how the power runs and all of the different caveats.”

“Our students in robotics have passions in other areas outside of computer science and traditional STEM jobs,” Kumm said. “The exposure to real-world thinking, problem-solving and collaboration the students encounter each practice are building their skills for careers past graduation.”

Members of the Cyclone Robotics team dedicate a lot of time and energy to prepare for competitions, meeting twice a week for a few hours at a time outside of school, during open study periods throughout the school day and for three to four hours during longer weekend practices. But that is just for competition preparation. Team members plan to volunteer a week of their summer vacation to encourage younger students to try FIRST.

“We have Camp Invention during the summer to work on all of the STEM programs with the students in the elementary school,” said student Caitlin Ryan who is part of the Cyclone Robotics media team.

During the camp, Cyclone Robotics members will show off the robot they’ve worked on this year and then work with participants on various projects throughout the week so they can learn how to do it themselves with a hope of inspiring them to join when they get to high school.

Members also plan to use the off-season time to work with another team to better learn Java so they can code their robot better next season, knowledge that will benefit the team in future competitions but also in the classroom and in postsecondary success.

“A lot of the programs that we’ve gotten through the STEM Council are kind of like direct correlations,” Fink said. “The learning they get through STEM BESTⓇ Program, STEM Scale-Up Program and the grants we’ve received directly relate and a lot of kids do participate in both robotics and STEM BESTⓇ.”

FIRST has been offered through the Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program during the following cycles:

• FIRST Robotics Competition (2016-17 and 2017-18)
• FIRST Lego League (2012-13)
• FIRST LEGO League Explore (2021-22)
• FIRST Tech Challenge (2015-16, 2014-15, and 2012-13)