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Our Purpose
- Glorify God and Minister to Others.
Our conduct and attitude in everything that we do should always honor God and bless the people around us (Matthew 5:16 - Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven).
- FUN! FUN! FUN!
The club should be fun for all members, both kids and adults. To this end we plan to keep the club as informal and as inclusive as possible with a minimum of organizational overhead. Key to making this happen is shared leadership responsibilities and broad participation by club members.
- Education.
In the process of having fun with robots, we expect a lot of learning and skill development to take place. Members will learn about the current state-of-the-art in robotics, and gain experience in engineering, planning, teamwork, science, software programming, mechanical and electrical design, construction and manufacturing techniques,... the list is endless.
- Information.
The club serves as a source of information for local and other robotics-related clubs, activities, formal events, businesses, organizations, toys and products. We also plan to have regular fields trips to various points of interest in the Dallas and local Texas region.
- Opportunity.
We plan to sponsor and organize teams of students and adults to take part and/or compete in various local robotics events. Members will have an opportunity not just to learn, but to demonstrate their skills and knowledge. Part of each monthly club meeting will be dedicated to robotics demonstrations, show-and-tells or lectures from the membership at large.
What is a robot?
The definition of what a robot is will vary depending on the club activity. Most of the competitive programs have specific part and functionality requirements related to the challenges the competing teams have to overcome. But in general, the club defines what a robot is broadly enough to allow a wide range of toys and play activities to fall under the charter of our club. The goal is to encourage kids to get out and try lots of ideas and approaches. There are several kits and building systems available for the novice to the expert roboteer, but any device that has to be built and requires remote or autonomous control in order to accomplish a specific task should pass as a robot. A remote-controlled car would not fall into this category (all someone has to do is plug in batteries and run the car) but anything like K'Nex, Legos, Robotix, Steel Tec, Erector set,... would do. Of course, completely home-made approaches will always be welcome.
The Program
Apart from encouraging involvement on formal, competitive teams (see FLL or BEST), the club will sponsor several types of on-going activites to promote interests in robotics.
- Field trips to local events and points of interest
- Regularly scheduled (weekly?) play and activity groups
- Special guest speakers (at monthly club meetings)
- Club member demonstrations, show-and-tells, lectures
- Opportunity to present/practice robotic science fair projects
- Definition and publication of club challenges and projects
Club Challenges
The club will define a series of challenges which will be posted on this web site. Student members can then work on the challenges, present their work at club meetings and receive special awards and honors for their accomplishments.
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