Outreach

Local Elementary & Middle School Visits

As a team, we visit seven different schools year after year, including Cannon, Colleyville, Bransford, Silverlake, Timberline, and OC Taylor Elementary, along with Heritage Middle. We do presentations here to promote robotics and engineering to young students. During these presentations kids learn about our several robotics competitions (including FTC and AVR), the principles of robot design, and how related technologies (such as 3D printing) work. This is done through demonstrating our robots live, flying our drones through the school gyms, and showing off 3D printers live in action. In addition to this, we also let them interact with our Pepper robots that IBM kindly sponsored us with and drive Spheros. This gives the students a hands-on experience with the technology that they will remember.

Semi-regional Tournament & Meet Hosting

We hosted the largest FTC tournament in the metroplex, with 36 teams participating, including 2 rookie teams. The event was possible throught the support of our generous sponsors: GCISD, Costco, and First in Texas. We had many wonderful student volunteers take time out of their day to help us, which allowed us to introduce them to robotics and spread interest to the student body. 

We also had the opportunity to host 3 league meets with the largest league in North Texas, hosting 19 teams in the G league! During the events, we had the opportunity to connect with other teams,  helping our team grow and improve teamwork, communication, and morale.

Professional Development Advocacy

An important part of reaching out is promoting to community leaders, so we’ve challenged ourselves to "reach up" and advocate for STEM and CTE courses.

Our team visited our district’s Professional Development Center to promote robotics and STEAM education. We presented to local officials, businesses, and the Grapevine and Colleyville Chambers of Commerce about FTC and robotics, promoting engineering classes.

Attendees enjoyed hands-on experience operating drones and robots, and each walked away with a custom printed gift. 

Mentoring Rookie FTC & FLL Teams

Last year, our team had the privilege to mentor 2 brand-new FTC teams: Grapevine Robotics (Team 27860) and Panther Robotics (Team 27862). We helped them learn the ropes and get accustomed to the FTC experience. In addition to that, we also mentored local middle school students in FLL by guiding them in designing, building, and programming their robots. This year, we have been mentoring the Fillie-Bots (Team 32163), a team promoting female representation in robotics.

The Giving Machine

In the winter of the 24-25 and 25-26 school year, we put together an engaging holiday activity emphasizing STEAM values like creativity and discovery. In 2024, kids were able to work with simple circuitry by putting together a small battery and light bulb to make a decorated ornament. In 2026, they used rubber bands and popsicle sticks to make toy catapults. At both events, we displayed our robot to encourage more exploration into STEAM activities.