The
FIRST
#GAMECHANGERS season brings together the traditional notion of athletics with
FIRST, the sport for the mind. Renaissance Jax, Inc. was given a unique opportunity to bring together robots and hockey because we were chosen by the
Jacksonville Icemen
to be a "Nonprofit of the Night" for their STEM night on February 27. In this first-of-its-kind outreach opportunity for our robot community in Northeast Florida, our students, coaches, and volunteers had a wonderful time tabling before the game and during intermission periods.
Two of our
FIRST
Tech Challenge (FTC)
and five of our Northeast Florida
FIRST
LEGO League Challenge (FLL)
teams demo'd their robots and displayed their Innovation Projects for hockey fans, including Fang - our husky Icemen mascot. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales and the 50/50 raffle will be donated to us. Many thanks to our teams, volunteers, and supporters who showed up and gave us a sold-out evening!
Each event Renaissance Jax hosts is to provide our k-12 students with opportunities to demonstrate the skills they've learned, including coding, communication, and teamwork. As our teams complete these outreach events, our goal is to spread awareness of the FIRST
programs and inspire the community to be a part of a robotics team. A female spectator walking with her family pointed at an FTC robot and said “I’m going to build one of those robots, just watch me!”
"I believe the majority of our group, especially the kids...this was the first time they've ever been to the Arena and first time for a hockey game as well. The team had a great time and were fascinated with all the different Robotics groups that were there. They were able to really step out by talking to others, learning more and demonstrating what they have accomplished since starting this program...The impact that has been made on our kids is a very positive one and has definitely intrigued them even more. I believe we may have some true engineers."
Teams Present:
- FTC 17986 904 Robo Eagles
- FTC 18385 SHIVA Atomatrons
- FLL 31331 Mega Mavericks
- FLL 16654 Robo Rockers
- FLL 44701 Rising Robo Rockers
- FLL 50799 Waldo Robotics
- FLL 40575 LEGO My EGGO
As a cherry on top, the Icemen won 3-2 in an exciting triple overtime game!