Send your tips to Norm and Jeanne and we will add them here
FRC:
How to approach kids 5 and under
- Point out how cool the robot is. Direct to FTC/FLL exhibits.
How to approach kids 5-10
- Point out how cool the robot is. Direct to FTC/FLL exhibits. Ask if have any questions.
How to approach pre-teens/teens 10-15
- Point out how cool the robot is. Tell them a little about how it was built if seem interested. Direct to FTC for hands on activities.
How to approach people 15+
- Answer detailed questions about the robot people may have.
FTC:
Note: This is under the assumption that you are allowing people to drive your robot. This is usually fine as its after the end of the season, just be prepared to make haphazard repairs. There tends to be a lot of crashing into walls.
How to approach kids 5 and under
- If they aren’t in a stroller they can be asked if they want to drive the robot
How to approach kids 5-10
- Ask if they want to drive the robot
- Suggest Jr. FLL to their parents
How to approach preteens/teens 10-15
- Ask them if they want to drive the robot
- Suggest FLL to them/their parents
How to approach people 15+
- If they are young (15-18) ask if they want to drive the robot. Suggest FTC or FRC to them.
- If they are parents of kids driving the robot, give them information about FIRST, finding teams, creating teams as well as your own experiences. Encourage them to get their kids on a team.
- If they aren’t with any kids and are just curious, explain what FIRST is and give them information. They could be interested in mentoring teams.
FLL:
(complements of Noah of RobotMindTech)
How to approach kids 5 and under
- Show some basic Lego models that can move or otherwise draw interest, such as a windmill or a catapult.
- Have a low step to allow these smaller children to see what the game field is like and how the robots move on it.
How to approach kids 5-10
- Have a very small, sturdy Lego model built that can easily demonstrate some of the cool things Lego can do, such as a robot that has an ultrasonic in front of it that will run turn tail when it sees something, or an RC robot.
- Ask the kids if they're interested in robotics, and show them what they could make by demonstrating the robot.
- Ask questions as to how they could fix problems related to the previous year's theme (with lots of high-fives and smiles for awesome answers).
- Point them to possible ways they can either join the program or prepare to join the program.
How to approach pre-teens/teens 10-15
- Tell them that FLL is a great way to work with kids or get volunteer hours. Show the difference in research and robotics and how even if they can't help in one it's okay that they can help in the other.
- If the kids have already been a part of FLL, tell them that mentoring teams is a great way to give back to the program that helped them out.
- Point them to possible nearby teams or other ways to contact teams around them.
- Show the older ones to FTC and FRC if they don't know how to continue in FIRST but still want to.
How to approach people 15+
- For people already in FIRST: Efforts for many awards can be greatly assisted by having team members mentor FLL teams. In addition, it can cause more kids to join FTC/FRC if they have mentors from such teams.
- For kids not in FIRST: Same deal as the 10-15 range.
- For adults interested in being involved: For research, FLL teams require real-world expertise when working with their research project. Tell them that if they have any expertise that might be helpful for the topic of the year that they can get in touch with FLL in their area to talk with them and help them out with their project. If they are in your area, give them your contact information.
- For parents: Show them all the ways FIRST is beneficial to their children and the path that it can set them on up until college. Give them website information as well as possible teams in the area. If they are in your area, give them your contact information.
- For adults interested in starting a team: Point them towards the website, and offer any information that you can offer to help them in their endeavour. Give them your contact information so that they can contact you if they need assistance.
How to approach anyone
- STICKER!
- BUTTONS!
- SMILES!
That last one can apply to any of three competitions.