Team Leaders,
Upper Midwest Region Awards Show
The Upper Midwest Region Awards show is May 13th, 7:00pm CDT. The show will last about 75 minutes. Here are the sites for the webcast:
Twitch streaming link: https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires13
YouTube streaming link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezlMOsdTNk0
MN State Fair Update from Jay Nix
Right now we are hopeful to have a Fair, and we plan to hold the competitions in the same manner, we have updated the website with new registration dates. Registration begins June 7th (https://www.mnstatefair.org/competitions/k-12-competition/ ).
As far as what the Fair will look like I do not have answers to that; there could be many things still in place (capacity limits, face masks, etc.) and we will have to follow all the guidelines for safety from the state. But for now, we are hopeful to have a Fair and would like to plan for entries and competitions as usual (there will be safety measures in place for drop off, etc. but I cannot say what exactly those will be until closer to August).
We hope to have the robotics demonstration again this year so consider entering your team’s robot and bringing some team members to the fair for a day to talk about your robot.
Please contact me, Jay Nix, to schedule a day for your team to come to the fair to demonstrate your robot and talk with the people at the fair about First Robotics.
If you have questions or need help with the registration, please contact me.
Jay Nix
jay.nix006@gmail .com
Cell 612-968-0802
Women’s Hack-A-Thon
Bright Ideas Hack-A-Thon is an online event for women in Minnesota’s high schools and 2021 graduates. At the event, students will work in groups of 3 students and 2 industry mentors to identify a product or service that solves a social or business problem. You will take on a designated role to pitch the idea. Anyone can have the best idea and product in the world but if it can’t be successfully pitched; the idea will not take off! Join this exciting event, make new friends, and learn from others! The event is a two-day event – Aug 12 (8:45am-3pm) and Aug. 13 (9-noon). Details can be found here (https://itconnect.workoutloud.com/Event/bright-ideas-hackathon-8-12-2021 )
Thank you,
Russell Fraenkel
Director of IT Career Pathways and Partnerships
Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence
www.mnstateitcoe.org
russell.fraenkel@metrostate.edu
651.253.9438 (mobile)
Fargo Air Show/STEM exhibits
This Summer the Fargo AirSho (July 24 and 25) will be paired with a STEM Expo! The addition of the STEM Expo to the Air Show is targeted at getting students excited about STEM. We are trying to model the event after the St. Louis Air Show and STEM Expo. The goal is to get people of all ages excited and interested in STEM fields. To do this we are looking for FRC teams to attend the show and showoff what they do in the STEM.
The Fargo AirSho is bringing in the Red Tail Rise Above Exhibit. This Exhibit is a national education outreach program that is dedicated to telling the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The programs goal is to inspire young people to achieve their dreams by introducing them to inspirational stories from the past.
FRC Teams:
The STEM Alliance with Teams 4360 (Moorhead Spudnik) and 7048 (Fargo Red River Rage) will have at a minimum a half practice field set up. This includes 3 drive stations, safety barriers, the goals, and ball feeds from the 2020/2021 Season. Depending on the number of teams interested in attending, the spin wheel and even possibly a climbing pole/generator could be present. This could be a fantastic addition to your Chairmans award. In addition to the STEM Expo, there is also a fundraising opportunity. The Fargo AirSho will pay $50 per person per day to man a booth. These booths typically sell various concessions. If you are interested in signing up to work at a booth, please email: pfinstad@yahoo.com & sommer182@gmail.com
The Show is scheduled this year for July 24 & 25 in Fargo, ND. In addition to the STEM Expo there will be many performers and exhibits including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels!
If you are interested, or have any questions please email events@stemalliancefm.org or see (https://stemalliancefm.org/Events/ )
STEM series – NoMythic Team 2491
Team 2491 NoMythic from St. Paul, MN is holding a virtual STEM Series this May and June with talks from a bunch of cool people in STEM fields! Each event is a twenty-minute talk with time for questions afterwards. There’s more info about the speakers and a link to the google form you need to fill out to get the zoom links on our website here: http://2491nomythic.com/stem-series/ or see this flyer (https://firstuppermidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NoMythic-STEM-Series-Flyer.pdf)! Wed love for you to share this info with your teams and we hope to see some of you there! Please email 2491nomythic@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Open Position on the FUM Board
Are you interested or do you know someone who would be a great candidate for a position on the board for FIRST in the Upper Midwest (FUM)? FUM is led by a dedicated corps of volunteers with over a century of combined experience starting and supporting teams, mentoring students, and organizing and conducting robotics competitions. We are looking for candidates to participate on the board to oversee FUM activities and create and implement plans to achieve our vision to help FIRST FRC teams be more successful. Candidates who represent teams outside of the metro area are especially encouraged to apply. Go to this link to apply by Noon on Sunday, May 23:
Teaching opportunity
This request is coming via the MN Regional Control System Advisor network. David Orser is a mentor with the Farmington Rogue Robotics, Team 2987, but in real life is an assistant professor at the U of MN CSE.
“I’m kickstarting a new course at the U of MN through the College in the Schools initiative (CIS) for high-school students. It is called EE1301 – Introduction to Computing Systems. EE1301 is an introductory programming course (C/C++) with a focus on engineering concepts and project development. Here’s an example student project (http://spr2020.iotshow.ece.umn.edu/cookieguardian_195444_12966865_davel013_Showcase/index.html ) and a course one-pager (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GN2M1opDCEfD_VGPTTHr52SBu86HSQbJWDMj5niNKwk/export?format=pdf ). I am looking for high-school teachers that might be interested in partnering to teach this college-credit course in AY21/22 or AY22/23.”
If you are interested, you can email David directly at orser@umn.edu
Regards, Mark Lawrence
Chairman, MN FIRST Regional Planning Committee