Outreach
How our team is connected to our community
BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER PROJECT
We have been offered an incredible opportunity to have our work represented at the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois. During Former President Barack Obama’s presidency, he had three patent models on display in the Oval Office. We were asked to create a replica of a gear-cutting machine from 1874, designed by John Peer, to be put on display in the Oval Office recreation at his Presidential Center. One of the other patent models, a water wheel for a steamship, is being replicated by FRC Team 2725. This team has reached out to us for help with their project, so we are also playing a hand in this patent model as well.
ALLENTOWN DISTRICT EVENT
Our team hosted the 2024 Allentown District Event. It was a huge success and brought our community together. 27 teams from all over New Jersey came together and competed, filling the stands with hundreds of spectators. We had approximately 1500 spectators each day at the 2-day event. We received 0 negative reviews, according to the FIRST organization, a rarity for district events.
STEM CLUB
We currently have a STEM Club at Stone Bridge Middle School that has been highly successful in the past few years. By creating a STEM Club, students are gaining interest and joining our team. We teach the students about different aspects of Robotics like OnShape, 3D printing, and build. By teaching them in middle school, they are able to get exposure at a young age. If you are interested and attend Stone Bridge Middle School, reach out to Mrs. Folino to join.
Last year, we saw an interest in 8th graders on the STEM Club and decided to let them join our team. All of the members who joined as 8th grader decided to continue robotics as a freshman.
ROBOT DEMONSTRATIONS
Robot demonstrations have been our favorite way to connect with our community. Allentown hosts two fairs annually, the Fall Festival and Spring Fling, that we were able showcase our work in. Anyone walking through the fairs was able to feed our robot a game piece and catch it after the robot shot the piece out. We also attending a Craft Fair hosted at Allentown Highschool, where we did a robot demonstration and sold handmade ornaments. We also attended Millstone Day, we talked about our team and FIRST while demonstrating our robot. This was amazing for youth engagement, with a few parents even asking how their children could get involved in programs like ours. Each year we attend Science Night Live at Newell Elementry School, where people the community come to learn about STEM and interact with our robot.Our team hosted the 2024 Allentown District Event. It was a huge success and brought our community together. 27 teams from all over New Jersey came together and competed, filling the stands with hundreds of spectators. We had approximately 1500 spectators each day at the 2-day event. We received 0 negative reviews, according to the FIRST organization, a rarity for district events.
SCOUTING AT WORLDS
During our time in Houston, Texas, in 2025, we combined with other smaller FRC teams to scout during matches. This allowed students more time to go to the convention center and meetings instead of having to sit in the stands. This allowed us to meet and work with other teams from around the world. We taught other teams how we scout, completely digitally on an app that students on our team created.
