Two team members, Arnav and Cameron, spoke at an EdTech Conference at the MIT Sloan School of Management on Wednesday. They were invited to speak on a panel along with a volunteer for FIRST Global about their experiences on the team and how they’ve used technology to advance their learning.

Cameron and Arnav waiting to speak at the MIT EdTech conference

City Councillor and Newton mayoral candidate Ruthanne Fuller was given a tour of our team meeting space this week. LigerBots leadership explained the team’s important role in creating Newton STEM opportunities and we advocated for better government support of the team.

CTO Cameron and business group member Javid talk to Newton city councillor Ruthanne Fuller at a team meeting

Last Thursday the entire team got together for our annual Awards Night held at Newton South. The team recognized sponsors, students, and mentors with various awards such as rookie all-star, given to the most dedicated first year team member. The night began with a delicious potluck dinner provided by the parents on the team.

The LigerBots gather for our annual awards night in the Newton South High School cafeteria

The LigerBots will host a Team Intro Night on Monday, June 12, from 6:30-8:30 at Newton South High School, in the wood shop, room 9170. Prospective team members and their parents can learn about the LigerBots, drive our robot, use our power tools, draft using our design software, make marketing materials, do engineering challenge games, and eat dessert!

Last Tuesday the LigerBots hosted an information night about FIRST LEGO League (FLL) as part of the team’s ongoing effort to increase STEM activity among elementary and middle school students. The event took place at Newton North High School and was designed to help parents better understand what it takes to get a team moving.

While the parents listened to a presentation given by LigerBots students and coaches, the students participated in various activities along with LigerBot team members. These included building Lego towers, experimenting with Snap Circuits, engineering Rokenbok tracks and creating new lines of code with LEGO robotics kits.

We hope these students can join their local FLL team next year.

LigerBots recently competed at WPI’s annual off season competition: BattleCry. Fifty-nine FRC teams arrived on May 20 to play the Steamworks game one more time, meet other competitors, and enjoy a sleepover on the WPI campus. The LigerBots were ranked eighth overall and were captains of the sixth alliance! We also won the Distinguished Controls award for “inspired robot-operator interaction.” Afterwards, team members unwound at an ice cream social followed by an intense series of trivia games and an ultimate frisbee tournament!

In preparation for Memorial Day the LigerBots and members of the Sons of the American Legion went to the Newton Cemetery and planted American flags on the three major veteran plots.

Then the team members marched at the annual Memorial Day parade with this year’s competition robot.

While we marched we shot Steamworks Wiffle balls from our 2017 robot and handed out flyers for our FLL Info Night for elementary and middle school students, which will be held this coming Tuesday, May 30, from 7-9 p.m. in the Newton North high school film lecture hall. We also advertised the LigerBots Team Intro Night for Newton high school students, which will be held on Monday, June 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Newton South high school wood shop. More information on both events can be found on the team calendar over at the ligerbots.org homepage and FLL page.

The Newton LigerBots are hosting a First Lego League (FLL) and Jr. FLL Info Night on Tuesday May 30 from 7 – 9 pm at the Newton North High School (457 Walnut Street) Film Lecture Hall (just off the front entrance at Tiger Drive).  FLL is the FIRST LEGO robotics competition for fourth through eighth graders. Junior FLL is a project-based FIRST program for children in grades K – 3. In addition to building and programming LEGO robots, each year’s themed FLL challenge includes a project for which team members brainstorm and present creative solutions to real life problems. This event is aimed primarily at parents, but kids are also welcome to come and learn more about the FLL program. Current LigerBots students and coaches who have participated in FLL in the past will lead a presentation with general information on FLL as well as on how to start your own team. There will be demonstrations of EV3 robots and people to answer any questions you may have. Email [email protected] for more information. Also, please see the FLL page on this website.