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Interested in Building, Programming, and Competing With Industrial-sized Robots?

Posted on January 4, 2024, by J. Bradshaw.

Student programmers for Team #8222 collaborate on the code for autonomous robot operation during a recent Joint Build & Practice Session at the Great Lakes Science Center – Image credit, J. Bradshaw.

The Great Lakes Science Center's Robotics Initiative invites you to join one of our six supported teams. Our program is open to any high school student enrolled in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD).

For CMSD students living in or attending school in the downtown area or on the city’s near Westside, there are two teams to choose from:
1. Team #8140, the RoboManiacs of MC2 STEM High School, and
2. Team #9622, GRIDLOCK of Garrett Morgan School of Engineering & Innovation;

For CMSD students living in or attending school in the northeastern sector of the downtown area or the city’s Eastside, there are two other teams to choose from:
1. Team #8145, the Tech Warriors of East Technical High School; and
2. Team #8222, the Argonauts of Davis Aerospace & Maritime High School;

For CMSD students living in or attending school on Cleveland’s Westside, there is Team #8243, the AstroCircuits of John Marshall School of Information Technology.

For girls attending any CMSD high school that would prefer to join an all-girls team, there is Team #9643, Lady VOLTAGE.

Teams meet regularly after school and on Saturdays at both their host school and at the Great Lakes Science Center. For specific information about the meeting times and locations of each team, visit the "On-site Build & Practice Sessions" page in the Season Calendar.

Off-season Opportunities

The FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) program is for high school-aged students in grades 9 through 12. Our competition season kicks off in January and goes through April. However, ours is a year-round program. During the offseason (May through December), our team members are busy learning the many skills needed to design, build, and program competitive robots that roll, fly, and swim. Participating students also use the off-season to visit colleges and universities, tour local manufacturing facilities, participate in off-season tournaments, and engage in various forms of community outreach.

There are plenty of important roles for students and adult mentors on a team. Some are more technical and involve designing, manufacturing & assembling the parts, wiring the electrical components, and programming the robot for competition. Other roles are non-technical and involve marketing, fundraising, public speaking, and other logistical tasks. All roles are equally important and many team members have more than one role. Training is provided so no experience is not required. What is required is a desire to learn, the willingness to help others grow, and a passion for FUN!

Whether you want to work on the technical side or the non-technical side, there is a place for you on one of our teams! If you are or know of, a CMSD high school student who would like to join our program, please apply online at https://forms.gle/9HSt8ueo5sJHXFcP9.

Mentors Wanted

Don’t forget, we are looking for adult mentors too! If you have an encouraging attitude, and a desire to help students achieve their goals and discover a future career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics...

WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!

We need male and female mentors with backgrounds in the following areas:

Engineering • Mechanical Design • Computer Programming

Business Planning • Team Building • Fundraising

Public Speaking • Recruitment • Electrical Engineering

Project Management • Creative Thinking

Whether you’re available to work with us regularly, or if you are only able to help facilitate a single training workshop, we need your help!

To learn more about many mentoring opportunities available through this program, watch the video at https://youtu.be/52cfc_icl9c, and then contact Mr. Bradshaw at bradshawj@glsc.org

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