to celebrate our graduation from The Robosaurus 27743
We always heard that the robot game teaches us how to program, how to build, how to compete, and yes it also gives us some team bragging rights :))
However, the hidden gem of the FLL Competitions is the project. Each year the project opens their young minds to the endless possibilities of what STEM can do for the well-being of our communities.
This year it was about re-imagining our cities and the team was energized by the idea of designing a green playground.
Who would think that yet another after season challenge will present in front of them in the form of the SARS-CoV2. Team members as well as our junior mentor joined the NYMakesPPE making 3D-printable face shields for healthcare workers. We home-produced almost three hundred of them, existing models as well as improved ones, and then delivered them to the Eastern Long Island Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Skin Cancer Center at Hauppauge, EMS and clinics around Long Island. They even submitted to NIH a model with their improvements.
The generalized threat posed by COVID-19 might be our generation’s awakening moment and what is the most remarkable is that the Robosaurus team was not the only team using 3D modeling and 3D printing to fight the virus. We were just one among many. We saw the 3d printing of PPE (face shields, straps, mask extenders, ventilator pieces, etc.) being repeated all over the country, by many FIRST robotics teams. Surely, it took boldness to refuse to cower especially in NY. But a lot of praise we received we have to deflect it. It should rightfully go to the FIRST volunteers and to the FIRST program for fostering such a special environment, which enabled us to grow, team-up and make ourselves vectors of positive change in our communities.
Thank you FIRST!
First Lego League Robotics 