Robotics at Cliffiside

There are many different places that students can get their volunteer hours, and the school gives us great access to those. One of these places is at Cliffside Elementary, where I’ve been mentoring the robotics team for going on three years. Twice a week, from 3:15-5pm I teach 4th and 5th graders about how to do credible research, form and give presentations, and speak in front of a group of people. We work on projects under the theme chosen by our sponsor, First Lego League.

Unfortunately, this also means that we do not get to build our own robots. The computers are provided for us, and we build wheels and arms as needed to complete the missions assigned to us. We use an app on their school provided tablets to program the robots, but during actual tournaments and scrimmages we have to access the programs directly from the robot, without touching the tablet.

We usually have around 10 students participating in robotics, two sponsoring teachers, and one mentor. Meetings usually start in mid-September, and last until the beginning of December when we have our tournament.

Every year at the tournament the kids give their presentations, cite their ‘core values’ and run their pre-programmed robots to complete missions on a lego board. They get graded in a variety of categories, and can win one of many awards.

Unfortunately, we no longer have room for anyone to join the robotics team for service hours, but this is just one of many examples of how you can contribute to a cause while still benefiting from it. I plan to continue mentoring the robotics team even after I have gotten all of my required hours.

By: Tyler Blanton