1st Meeting of the New Season: A Retrospective, and then Full Steam Ahead!
Hard to believe the new season kicks off in just a couple of weeks! The summer just flew by; it seemed we were doing something every month since our return from Atlanta in April.
Wait! We WERE doing something every month since our return for the World Championship in April! There was:
- IEEE-Robotics and Automation Society presentation, April 20
- Trinity Homeschool Center Open House, Tampa – May 10
- THINK Homeschool co-op demo, Tampa – May 24
- coolTECH 2010, Tampa, June 4
- PTC/ USER World Event, Orlando, June 6-9, 2010
- TRAK Microwave Demo, Tampa, June 15
- TDT LEGO Engineering Summer Camp, June 28- July 2
- YMCA LEGO Engineering Camp – Carrollwood YMCA, August 9-14
- and then our great visit with Robrady Design just last Friday.
Now it’s time to get down to business of competitive robotics, organizing tools and materials, coordinating schedules and, best of all, meeting new team members!
TDT has four potential new team members joining us on Saturday, and we’re really looking forward to spending some time together. All new members are invited to at least three meetings, to make sure we’re all a good fit for each other – so far, we always have been! As we enter our third season, we’re proud of the fact that we’ve been able to introduce seven students – from four different public schools, two private schools and homeschools – to FIRST robotics for the very first time, and to take four of them to the World Championship in their very first season with us – or rather, they helped take us there! All our new applicants this season are also new to FIRST.
We’re heading into the new season with all of last season’s non-graduating members, now TDT veterans. All of our graduated members are now in college, at least two in engineering programs. We feel we’ve made a positive impact on our students, and in our community, and look forward to strengthening connections and friendships with mentors and sponsors, with whom we’ve kept in touch through the summer, all throughout the coming year.
We hope other teams and website visitors will enjoy the wealth of resources we offer up here, as well, in our Robotics Resources page and the Team Duct Tape Library, which will be updated as new season materials become available.
And look for Team Duct Tape at more events in coming months:
- LIFE Fest 2010 Education conference, Orlando, September 18, 2010
- Tempest ‘n’ Tampa 2010 -USF Sun Dome, October 22
- Rockwell Automation Fair 2010 -Orange County Convention Center, November 3 & 4
Rumor has it new game hints will soon begin appearing at Ken Johnson’s FTC Blog . Can’t wait!
Great TRAK Visit
Team Duct Tape members enjoyed a terrific day at TRAK Microwave in Tampa, on Tuesday. After sharing some background and information about FIRST and FTC, team members shared their Team Duct Tape knowledge and experiences with an impressive crowd of TRAK employees who turned out for a morning of robotics and lunch with Team Duct Tape and FLL Brick Buddies. The SkypeBot was on hand, too, and drew considerable interest.
After lunch, TDT and Brick Buddies enjoyed a great tour of the TRAK Microwave facility and learning all about the remarkable
TDT and Brick Buddies
technology created and used by TRAK. We hope to enjoy more insights and expertise from TRAK engineering mentors throughout the coming season.
Thank you, TRAK, for a great visit and for making us feel so welcome!
TDT with TRAK Microwave
Team Duct Tape visiting TRAK Microwave
TRAK Microwave was one of Team Duct Tape’s biggest sponsor’s last season, contributing generously to our FIRST World Championship journey, as well as providing mentoring guidance during some of our meetings. On Tuesday, TDT members are bringing FTC to TRAK, to give a presentation about FIRST Tech Challenge and demo the Hot Shot! game for TRAK engineers. Team members will also have an opportunity to talk with engineers, have lunch with them, and to get a tour of the TRAK facility – the best of all possible young engineer worlds! FLL Team Brick Buddies will be along, too, to showcase FIRST LEGO League and their achievements.
TDT is looking forward to our visit and to thanking TRAK Microwave in person for all their kindness and support.
Team Duct Tape 