Cybergnomes Robotics, a non-profit organization focused on developing technical skills and thinking in students in Simcoe County is launching a new team for girls ages 11-18.
To increase the number of girls on the team Cybergnomes Robotics is launching an all girls VEX robotics team.
The Cybergnomes Robotics Team has traditionally competed in the FIRST Robotics Challenge – an international competition where students have six weeks to design, prototype, build and program a 120-pound robot to compete in a sports-type game.
Currently only 25 per cent of the members of the team are girls. Our goal is to increase that number and encourage young women into leadership and stronger building and programming roles.
The VEX Robotics Challenge asks students to design, prototype, build and program a table-sized robot to compete in international games.
This year’s robot must score four-foot balls in goal nets, defend against other robots and lift its partner robot 12 feet off the ground in a game called “Nothing but Net”.
Students will meet weekly through the summer and fall and need nothing more than enthusiasm.
Each week the team will learn different concepts related to developing and programming a robot that they will put to direct use on their competition robot. No prior knowledge is necessary. Students, working in a friendly, social atmosphere, will gain knowledge of tools, techniques and processes.
“Our hope is that by working through the VEX program, the girls will develop the confidence to take on leadership roles in our more intense FRC program where they have a much shorter time frame to build a much bigger robot,” says Gary Page, mentor with the Robotics Team.
Anyone interested in the program is welcome to contact Gary Page at 705-888-0731 or e-mail the team at cybergnomesroboticsteam2013@gmail.com for more details.