From vlogging for the FTC YouTube Channel to prototyping and brainstorming, to learning and teaching at Middleton High School’s Build It Day last Saturday, TDT has hit the new season running!

Two weeks ago we made the acquaintance of a wonderful new mentor, Matt Griswold, an injection mold design engineer with MICRO , which we hope to tour sometime in the near future.  Last Saturday, we met up with our sister team, #5210, Mission imPossible to work on design ideas and programming. We enjoyed a very helpful presentation on using the Anderson Powerpole connectors . And when the PTC engineer scheduled to do the Creo workshop couldn’t make it, our own Chris W. stepped in with an impromptu session on CAD design using Creo.

And thanks to the wonderful generosity of Rockwell-Collins, every team that came to the Build It Day went home with a fantastic goody bag that included things only FIRST teams could love – a way cool, high quality crimping tool, Anderson Powerpole connectors and the latest edition of Pope John XXIII High School FTC team’s great book FTC Robotics:Tips, Tricks, Strategies and Secrets .

Thank you, Rockwell Collins, from Middleton HS Build It Day Teams!

You’d think it couldn’t get any better than that, but then we headed over to our meeting after Build It Day, which was already in progress with students who didn’t go to the Middleton event, and there was our robot taking shape, just waiting for powerpole connectors and a good crimping tool! 

Next stop, the 2011 Florida STEM Summit III, at MOSI in Tampa, tomorrow evening, where FIRST president Jon Dudas will be speaking. Can’t wait!