Gearing Up

NPR’s Talk of the Nation Interview with Dean Kamen

sberkbigler — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:46:59 +0000

Dean Kamen

Tune in to NPR’s Talk of the Nation Tuesday, January 5 to hear Neal Conan’s interview with Dean Kamen. Check your local NPR station for the program time in your area. They usually ask for callers on the program, so be thinking about what you might want to ask if your call goes through.

St. Louis to Host 2011-2013 Robotics Championships

sberkbigler — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:43:08 +0000

Beginning in 2011 St. Louis will begin hosting the FIRST Robotics finals competition. Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST, made the announcement on October 7, 2009. Promoting science and technology to the same cultural level as entertainment and sports in our culture is a problem, Kamen noted. “We live in a culture that doesn’t respect or celebrate science and technology. We have to create demand for science and technology, especially among women and minorities.”

Watch the video below and then share Your Story. What do you think about the selection of St. Louis as host city for FIRST Robotics? Will you be there?

Getting Started

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:50:31 +0000

Gearing Up "Team in a Box" DVD

Starting a FIRST Robotics team may seem overwhelming when you begin, but it is well worth the time and effort. Focusing on the Gracious Professionalism ethos of FIRST is to encourage high-quality work. The Miss Daisy Team, featured in Gearing Up, are encouraging others with a DVD to help rookie teams get started. The ‘Team in a Box’ project was created in 2004 and will help guide you through the different phases of FIRST. Information is geared towards FIRST Robotic and FIRST Lego League teams.

The DVD guide gives valuable information on:

what to expect throughout the process
organizing a team
learning about the new challenge game
how to survive the six-week build season
what happens at a competition
what to do during the off-season
how to arrange team sub-groups
how to give demonstrations
how to get parents involved with the program
tips on how to successfully build a robot
how to prepare award submissions

Interviews integrated into the video gives another perspective of FIRST. In addition to the DVD, the accompanying CD provides a resource center for teams to refer to. Producing a sponsorship video, tips and a collection of templates for common tasks in FIRST are included.

Ready to get started? View the presentation Team 341 made at the 2007 Kickoff Event in Manchester, NH about Team in a Box and the progress it has made.

Here’s the contact to order the DVD.