It’s getting colder and the LigerBots are kicking it into high gear!  First, some highlights from our very successful summer!

We were training students through project-based learning using a professional cloud-based software called Onshape. Using computer aided design tools, we designed parts for a demo bot that we are building this fall. Above is the design for our demo robot that we hope to build and show off at our upcoming Outreach events. 

Several LigerBots partook in a pilot summer internship at Northeastern University where we were split into two projects.

One of them was developing a teaching model for hematoma. Nurses from Brigham and Women’s Hospital were looking for a fairly low cost pelvic model to train and practice how to assess and palpate hematomas at the femoral vascular site.  The LigerBots, in cooperation with NEU’s Enabling Engineering program, delivered a model (pictured above) on time and within budget. 

The other project was a universal camera mount (pictured) for wheelchairs in Africa for the journalists of the Disability Justice Project.  They needed an affordable camera mount that could be stable, adjustable and hands free so that the journalists’ hands would be free to maneuver their wheelchairs over fairly rough outdoor terrain. Again, the team delivered on time and within budget including producing a detailed “How To” manual, instructional video and shipping options.  Over the course of the summer, we met with end users and mentors at Northeastern to work on these projects.

We also worked closely with a First Lego League (FLL) team based out of Newtonville. In the Spring, the LigerBots hosted an FLL Info Night to provide information about the FLL tournament and encourage families to form teams.  One team did form over the summer and the LigerBots provided them with support. They will also be attending our upcoming FLL Challenge Qualifier on Saturday, November 18. Learn more about the competition here: https://ligerbots.org/fll.

The LigerBots also worked to expand our STEAM activities for outreach events. Our Graphics Team has been working on STEAM activities linked here: https://ligerbots.org/educational-resources.

We also built our own FLL robots for outreach events. We currently have a very small robot with a catapult and a programmable drawing robot that encourages young students to learn to code. We also have a line-following table top robot.

Summer is always an opportunity for our team members to get trained in skills they will use not only on the team but potentially in their careers such as Onshape for CAD, program and budget management for projects, and problem solving for real world challenges.

Stay tuned for more about what our team has been up to since the start of the school year, how our team is shaping up and we are currently up to!

Watch the LigerBots smash your Halloween pumpkin with our awesome, robot-driven smasher at Newton City Hall, Saturday 11/4 from 1-5. In addition to the smashing we’ll have hands-on STEAM activities for kids!

The LigerBots open house for prospective team members will be Sept. 28, 2023 from 6:30 –9:30 p.m. in the tech ed room at Newton South High School. All Newton North and Newton South students are invited. Masks required. Join us and learn about the team

This exciting event will include an introductory presentation about the team and hands-on challenges in many of the skill areas that we learn on our team, like mechanical and electrical engineering, programming, driving robots, CAD (Computer Aided Design), marketing, graphics, photography, and public speaking.

Interested in encouraging your K-8 child further into STEM through building LEGO® robots? The LigerBots will host its annual FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) information night on Wednesday, June 14, from 7:00-8:30 p.m., at the Newton North High School Film Lecture Hall. You can register and find more information at ligerbots.org/fll.

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!