Nemesis Teaches STEAM to Future Generations!

On November 21, a perfect fall afternoon, over 35 energetic young children and their eager parents gathered at the Robbinsville Public Library for a demonstration of  the award-winning FIRST Robotics Team Nemesis 2590’s 2015 competition robot, Calypso. The children watched in awe as Calypso -- who towered over them -- zoomed across the floor from tote to tote, sparking a love for STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

The demonstration included a brief description of the 2015 season’s game, Recycle Rush, as well as an explanation of how Calypso functions. The young attendees asked questions about how the parts were made, what it’s like to build the robot, and how it feels to compete. Once the robot began moving around the room, all who were in attendance were astonished and impressed.

During the demonstration, the children had the opportunity to learn what autonomous mode was by playing a game similar to “Simon Says”, the only difference being their eyes were closed. Afterwards, Nemesis team members and Build Executives Samantha Young, Christian Gavalchin, and Parth Mandrekar asked questions about engineering and its importance in the real world, to which one young boy responded, “Engineering is like building things for the future”. His answer hit home for the team proving that the STEAM message has resonated with children even at such a young age.

The attendees were also introduced to the Makerbot, a 3D printer that the children were informed could one day feature in their own homes. This was mind boggling to the children and their minds went crazy with ideas of what they could potentially make with their own three-dimensional printer.  

After watching the demonstration, many of the parents who brought their young children asked how they could get their children involved with robotics and start up their own team for young children prior to high school. Luckily for them, Nemesis has an annual Discovery Day-- which will be held on December 5th and 6th this year--  where students from second to sixth grade have the opportunity to build and program Lego Mindstorms to complete a challenge. Discovery Days are often the first foray into technology for many young children and has sparked an interest in robotics. Many of the students who attend ultimately join the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics team when they reach high school.  

Build Executive  and Senior Samantha Young “Seeing the excitement in the kids’ faces, as they learned about engineering, was an inspiration to me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with these eager young students and help them explore their interests in STEAM.”

At the end of the afternoon, both parents and children alike left the event proclaiming what an extraordinary time they had learning about the exciting world of FIRST and what it  has to offer to their futures. Nemesis would like to thank the Robbinsville Public Library for the opportunity to expose the future generations to the FIRST message and STEAM.