Filed under: Competitions, Higher Education, K-12, Mars, NASA, Oregon State University, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
WHO: Everyone is invited!
WHAT: Mars Rover Demonstration and Discussion
WHERE: Adair County Park – north of Corvallis, OR
WHEN: Saturday, April 25, 2009; 11am-2pm
Free and open to the public
The Oregon State University Robotics Club’s 2009 University Rover Challenge Team will host a demonstration of their new rover design on Saturday, April 25. The team will test their new rover design while performing tasks in biology, geology, soil analysis, emergency navigation and construction. The event will be at the first covered picnic area in Adair County Park north of Corvallis. After a brief project introduction at 11 a.m., the team will begin testing the new rover design until approximately 2 p.m.
For more information regarding the University Rover Challenge, sponsored by the Mars Society, please visit the official website at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/urc
Filed under: Cool Science, K-12, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Workshop | Tags: Portland, Portland State University
Robotics Hands On and Interactive
An event for TAG students in grades 7-10 at Portland State University in Portland Oregon – April 4, 2009
The Oregon University System and Johns Hopkins University’s Center For Talented Youth are collaborating to bring a day of hands-on robotics to the Portland State University campus on Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 9:00 – 4:00. Faculty and students from several Oregon instituitions of higher education as well as experts from industry will be on hand to lead small-group sessions. The content and pace will be targeted towards high-achieving students. Students are not required to be members of the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) to attend; students must be accompanied by an adult.
This day‐long event will feature hands‐on sessions on a variety of robotics topics, including:
• Swarm robots – How can we create robots that simulate the behavior of cockroaches?
• Robotics teamwork – Small groups of students will each build part of a robot, and then put the parts together to get a working robot.
• Robotics sensors – What are sensors? How and why do robots use them?
• Robots that exhibit artificial intelligence
• Humanoid Robots that simulate human facial features while talking
• Robots designed for Mars exploration
• Parents’ session ‐Family STEM Learning (Science Technology Engineering Math) by keynote speaker Dr. Lynn Dierking
• And more …
Program cost is $80 per person. Breakfast pastries, beverages, and lunch are included. Registration and breakfast open at 8:00 a.m. The program starts at 9:00 and concludes at 4:00.
To register, please visit https://ctyjhu.org/cnonlineapp/introOnlineConfApp.cfm
or download the form at http://cty.jhu.edu/family/docs/08-09RegFormRevised.pdf
Membership in the Center for Talented Youth is not required, but please do include your CTY ID if you have one. Please register by 2:00 Pacific Time Monday, March 30, 2009.
You are registered once you have received a written confirmation form. Registered families will receive an advance packet with maps, schedule, and travel information before the event.
Questions? Please contact CTY Family Academic programs at 410-735-6115 (Eastern) or ctyfam@jhu.edu or visit http://www.cty.jhu.edu/family/science.html and scroll down.
Filed under: Competitions, K-12, NASA, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
NASA is looking for the right stuff, or in this case, the right name for the next Mars rover. NASA, in cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ movie WALL-E from Pixar Animation Studios, is conducting a naming contest for its car-sized Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2011.
The contest is open to students 5-18 years old who attend a U.S. school and are enrolled in the current academic year. To enter the contest, students will submit essays explaining why their suggested name for the rover should be chosen. Essays must be received by Jan. 25, 2009. In March 2009, the public will have an opportunity to rank nine finalist names via the Internet as additional input for judges to consider during the selection process. NASA will announce the winning rover name in April 2009.
Disney will provide prizes to students submitting winning essays, including a trip to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the rover is under construction. The grand prize winner will have an opportunity to place a signature on the spacecraft and take part in the history of space exploration.
For more information, visit http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/
The Oregon State University Robotics Club will host an open demonstration of their “University Rover Challenge” entry on Saturday, May 10 – part of a national competition among university students to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers. The event will be at the Arts and Crafts Building at the Benton County Fairground in Corvallis, OR. From 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m. the rover will work to perform tasks in geology, soil analysis, emergency navigation and construction. The team, funded through a NASA ESMD Design Project award, has also received equipment donations from a corporate sponsor, Parallax Inc. The demonstration is free and open to the public.
For more information about the University Rover Challenge and the tests planned for Saturday, please visit the Mars Society’s University Rover Challenege website at http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/urc
Read more about the OSU Robotics Team at their journal, hosted through the Parallax company, at http://www.parallax.com/tabid/638/Default.aspx
Filed under: Competitions, Cool Science, NASA, Robots, Science, Webcasts | Tags: FIRST Robotics
The FIRST Robotics Championship is the final and largest event of the 2008 Competition. The 2008 Championship is at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA on April 17-19. This event is open to the public and free of charge, as are all FIRST Robotics Competitions.
If you are unable to attend the live event, you can still watch the matches on our live webcast courtesy of NASA TV! Check the link below for schedules, teams, match results, and a link to the webcast.
http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=432&menu_id=80
Filed under: Competitions, K-12, Robots, Science | Tags: FIRST Robotics, local robotics events, scrimmage
FIRST Robotics
Pre-Season Scrimmage
Area High school FIRST Robotics teams will have a pre-season scrimmage with their newly constructed robots for the 2008 season. This will be the first test of these newly minted robots. High school students have been working the past six weeks, creating, designing, building, and testing these new creations and going without sleep! A few days after this, the teams will ship their robots to the OREGON REGIONAL.
The game this year is challenging….
“FIRST OVERDRIVE” 2008 FIRST Competition
For short videos of the competition, visit the following url: http://robotics.nasa.gov/events/2008_frcwebcasts.php
You can also watch the FIRST competition in person! Cheer on your favorite teams!
What: FIRST Pre-Season Scrimmage
When: Saturday, February 16th
Time: 11am-3pm
Cost: Free
Where: Linn County Fairgrounds – Santiam Bldg
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FIRST Robotics Oregon Regional Finals
The Oregon regional will be held in a few weeks at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. This event is free and open to the public. Teams from Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Hawaii, Michigan and Montana will be there competing for the opportunity to go to Atlanta for the Championships. Come and cheer your favorite robot and team!!!!!
When: February 28 – Practice Day for teams
February 29 –Qualification Matches
March 1 – Finals
Cost: Free
Times: Thurs: 10:00am Practice Rounds
Fri/Sat 9:30am – 4:30pm Matches
For a complete schedule of upcoming FIRST events near you, please visit the following url: http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedfiles/community/frc/events/2008/2008_OR_Agenda.pdf
Filed under: Higher Education, Internships, NASA, Research, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
Robotics Academies
The NASA Robotics Internship Program is a 10-week resident summer internship for students specifically interested in robotics. Students who have previously participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition, Botball, or have taken active interest in robotics in demonstrable ways are given priority. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are rising freshmen or sophomores with a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Interns are assigned to a team project and receive direct guidance from the Principal Investigator who sponsors the project. An advanced robotics student is assigned as team lead to guide interns and manage the project on a daily basis. The interns and team leads participate in enriching activities such as a group project, lectures, field trips and meetings with leaders in the field.
Internship opportunities are sponsored by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. and Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, D.C. The 2008 internship will take place in June-August. Applications are due Jan. 15, 2008.
For more information about the MSFC Robotics Academy, visit http://education.msfc.nasa.gov/Robotics/index.html .
For more information about the GSFC Robotics Academy, visit http://university.gsfc.nasa.gov/programs/robotics.jsp .
NASA Academy
The NASA Academy is an intensive, residential, ten-week summer leadership development program for university level students. Activities throughout the summer include laboratory research work, a group project, lectures, meetings with experts and administrators, visits to NASA centers and space-related industries, technical writing, and presentations. Students learn how NASA and its centers operate, gain experience in world-class laboratories and participate in leadership development and relationship building activities. Upon graduation, Academy participants are inducted into the NASA Academy Alumni Association, whose goal is to promote NASA, the NASA Academy, research and space education.
To be eligible to apply, students must be rising juniors or seniors at the undergraduate level or be at the early graduate level in an accredited U.S. college or university. Applicants must also be majoring in engineering, science, mathematics, computer science or other areas of interest to NASA. They must have a minimum of a B average. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents as of May 2008. Students with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation services. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applications are due Jan. 15, 2008. For more information and to apply online, visit http://academy.nasa.gov/
Filed under: Competitions, K-12, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
FIRST Robotics’ mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication and leadership.
The 2007/08 FIRST Programs include:
- FIRST Robotics Competition for high-school students
- FIRST Tech Challenge for high-school students
- FIRST LEGO League for 9 to 14 year-olds
- Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6 to 9 year-olds
- FIRST Place for ages 6 to adult
Visit the FIRST Robotics website to find robotics competitions and events near you! Compete, volunteer, get involved!
http://www.usfirst.org/whatsgoingon.aspx
Google announced late last week a new X Prize competition. This time, the goal is the moon!
(From X PRIZE Founder – Peter H. Diamandis, MD)
It has been many decades since we explored the Moon from the lunar surface, and it could be another 6 – 8 years before any government returns. Even then, it will be at a large expense, and probably with little public involvement.
The Google Lunar X PRIZE seeks to create a global private race to the Moon that excites and involves people around the world and, accelerates space exploration for the benefit of all humanity. The use of space has dramatically enhanced the quality of life and may ultimately lead to solutions to some of the most pressing environmental problems that we face on earth – energy independence and climate change.
The X PRIZE Foundation could think of no better sponsor and partner than Google. We share a common vision for opening frontiers and a belief that a small dedicated group of individuals can accomplish amazing feats at very low cost.
With the Ansari X PRIZE, we were able to demonstrate that personal spaceflight is possible. Now, a new industry is emerging making it possible for anyone to fulfill their dream of spaceflight. With the Google Lunar X PRIZE we hope to usher in an era of commercial exploration and development, in which small companies, groups of individuals and universities can build, launch and explore the Moon and beyond.
We are very grateful to Google for their support, vision and courage and look forward to working with them to extend the online community to the Moon and beyond.
View more of the press conference, access education guides, and read details of the competition at the Google Lunar X Prize website:
http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/
Filed under: Competitions, Educator Kit, K-12, Robots, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities | Tags: Science Projects
What is the Great Light Racer Championship?
The GLRC is a technology and science competition designed for parent/child, teacher/students, or RC car hobbyist teams. The teams compete in solving a real NASA lunar exploration problem: building a rover that can operate in a permanently shadowed area of the moon.
Competition rovers consist of an electric RC car, modified to operate using a beam of light as its power source. The teams design, build, and operate the cars. We (Spaceward) provide the race track and the high-power spotlights used to power and race the cars.
Who can play?
The championship is open to three groups: Schools, Families, and Grown-Ups. School and family groups must have a person under the age of 16 controlling the car. A grown-up can handle the spotlight.
The Spaceward Games in Salt Lake City Utah, will host preliminaries beginning on October 15, 2007. Please visit Spaceward’s Light-Racer site for details, including rules and registrations.
http://www.spaceward.org/lightRacers.html
A complete curriculum packet for STEM educators and parents including background materials and car construction guidelines can be found here:
http://www.spaceward.org/lightRacers-stem.html
