The LigerBots have attended or hosted over 40 outreach events in the past year, and we aren’t planning on stopping any time soon! 

On Sunday, May 6, we did outreach with our robot and STEAM activities at the Healthy Kids Event at the Newton YMCA, which aims to inspire children and families to maintain healthy habits by keeping their minds and body active. Our booth featured numerous STEAM activities, such as slime, human robot maze, and solar ovens. Kids learned about states of matter by melting crayons and making slime, keeping their minds active. Our 2022 robot is capable of shooting oversized tennis balls for children to catch, which promotes active movement.

The LigerBots helped BikeNewton at their third annual Bike Rodeo on Sunday, May 7, at Newton South High School. We helped the bikers-in-learning practice their bike safety protocols on our makeshift obstacle course.

On Thursday, May 17, we held our annual awards night at Newton South. We celebrated and honored mentors, coaches, parents, and students. After a large potluck, coaches gave awards to students, and mentors, coaches, and graduating seniors received gifts. Also, continuing a long-standing tradition, students lightheartedly roasted seniors. Shortly after the ceremony, we also announced our team’s new executives.

On Sunday, May 21, the LigerBots marched in the Wellesley Veterans Parade alongside Wellesley’s FRC 8567 team, Ultraviolet. The parade was part of Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, whose theme was the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. We had a blast marching alongside Ultraviolet!

On the same day, we visited the Daisy Scout Troop. We displayed our tabletop robot, a mini robot capable of recognizing and navigating, and the scouts drew navigable paths with black marker for the robot to go along. We also offered several STEAM activities—as usual!—such as our binary bead bracelet activity.

We also recently hosted a birthday party for an elementary school student. The student attended our first birthday party, last year, and invited us to this one. At the event, LigerBots students demonstrated the tabletop robot. We also offered STEAM activities like creating skeleton handprints, where students make fake x-rays of their hands by tracing their hands in crayons and drawing out bones with olive oil. We also guided guests through creating buttons.

We’re in the midst of an outreach blitz! On May 28, we will march in the Newton Memorial Day parade. And, on Saturday, June 3, we will participate in the Walk for Independence at UMass Amherst’s Mount Ida Campus. The walk will support the Carroll Center for the Blind’s mission to aid the visually impaired. During the same weekend, the LigerBots will also compete in BattleCry, an off-season FIRST Robotics competition held at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. More details about BattleCry can be read here. And, on Sunday, June 4, we will visit a Girl Scout troop at the Second Church in West Newton. Whew!

Coming up soon is our annual FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Info Night on Wednesday, June 14, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Newton North High School. Join us for an amazing hands-on opportunity for young students to engage in STEAM! FLL is a program for students in grades K–8 to build and compete with LEGO robots. If you and your child are interested in joining, join us at FLL Info Night to learn more. 

Thank you to our sponsors! Rotary Club of Newton, Honda Village, Teradyne, PTC, Village Bank, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Newton Schools Foundation, Newton Public Schools, Rockwell Automation, as well as the Cao, Chaudhury Karim, Franklin, King, Preston, Saitz, Sangiolio, Wang Ji, Schwartz, Nedeljkovic, and Housman Families. Your support is greatly appreciated!