Below is the link to watch the Rocky Balboabots live compete at the Houston World Championship.
Rocky Balboabots + Isreael
After a long awaited reuniting, we finally got to face to face see our friends from Dimona, Israel.
Please watch Houston Finals Live
Here is the link to the stream to the Championship.
https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires_roebling/
and
https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires1
Team Members giving First Inspires Testimonials.
Alexis giving her testimonial about First Inspires and How it has changed her direction in life.
Mentor Dustin Garrett
Roberto giving his testimonial about First Inspires and How it has changed his direction in life.
Chandler giving his testimonial about First Inspires and How it has changed his direction in life.
Team 5437 Invited to tour Adrian Peterson Health Club
Posted by Team 5437 Rocky Balboabots on Thursday, March 15, 2018
Robotics as a Stimulus for Economic Growth – Creating opportunities!
Over the summer our Team has been in talks with Rockline Industries about apprenticeships for the youth in our region. Rockline Industries operates a highly automated facility in Booneville, AR. Through our talks and negotiations, we have created an apprenticeship program available to First Robotics young adults. The Robotics Apprenticeship will allow First Robotics Youth to shadow selected staff at the production plant in Booneville showing them what industrial robotics is about. This is an initiative we have created to develop a Highly Qualified workforce for our region.
Autism Spectrum Workforce Evolution
Team 5437 is sparking a Revolution! Please help us get it ignited!
Our goal is to identify and empower youth on the spectrum by showing them that they possess unique skills and abilities. These abilities paired with high interest activities involved in our organization will help develop workforce skills and most of all social skills that will help them for the rest of their lives.
Team 5437 investing in our Youth.
Team 5437 comes from a community with many low income families. With the new school year right around the corner, we decided to do our part by donating 16 backpacks of school supplies for both boys and girls in the first grade that are in need of help. We also provided each classroom K-6 at Booneville Elementary School with disinfecting wipes. We hope this small donation helps both the students and their families, and shows the students that one small act of kindness can go a long way and inspires them to use Gracious Professionalism by helping those around them.
See Booneville Schools FB Post
Team 5437 Makes an Exciting Discovery at ARCOM Medical College
Our team gratefully received a private tour of Fort Smith’s new Osteopathic Medical College by some of the admission staff members. While on the tour, we were given the opportunity to open up some of their mechanical medical mannequins and make relations with parts and structures our robot uses in correlation with their high tech robotic mannequins used for learning. Our team blew their minds when we showed them our 150 pound robot, which definitely wasn’t the tiny robot they were expecting to see roll through their doors that day. They were amazed to see that the same technology they were using inside their mannequins to prepare their students for the future, we were using to make these big bots to complete very different tasks. While they have professors standing behind one way glass controlling mannequins with detectable heart beats and pulses and a chest that is able to rise and fall to simulate various breathing patterns, we stand in alliance stations with other teams and control strong, rigorous robots we have built that can do things such as pick up ball and gears, shoot balls, hook gears on little pegs, and even climb ropes. We are thankful we had the exciting chance to learn how robotics can be used in areas outside of mechanically and/or electrically inclined careers. It was interesting seeing how you can use robotics in the medical field without just peering into human bodies. Instead, we got see how robots can be used to prepare medical students for interacting with patients and saving lives.
FRC Team 5437, FIRST Ambassadors, Inspire 5th and 6th Grade Students in Dover
A portion of our team traveled to Dover, a neighboring town, to introduce the prospective principal and students to the world of FIRST Robotics. Lexi and Chandler displayed our robot and its capabilities to the potential FIRST students. Our representatives informed the students how the FRC program has inspired them as students and individuals beyond just the FIRST Robotics organization. We plan on assisting with the start up of a robotics program in their community. Our goal was to inspire them as we have been inspired. We shared with them our team model and the message that FIRST is more than just building a robot. We hope that through our efforts Dover will be able to capture the undiscovered and underprivileged STEAM superstars that are walking the halls of their schools searching for a creative outlet for their unused talents. Our team shared with them the world that is opened up to teams through the FIRST INSPIRES organization.
Rocky Balboabots making International Allies
While competing at the FRC Houston World Championship, the team had the opportunity to make some new friends from all over the world. Pictured are teams from China, Switzerland, Turkey, and Israel.
Rocky Balboabots Team 5437 Visits NASA
The Team visited NASA – Johnson Space center in Houston. NASA is a major sponsor of our team this year. We are so thankful to FIRST. FIRST is the vehicle that has allowed every kid (and Mentor) to visit NASA. We had an awesome time and are very thankful for this opportunity and partnership.
First Championship – Houston
You can watch us compete by clicking the feed below.
If you would like to follow our progress you can click the link below.
Please watch this if you want to know what we are all about with FRC Robotics
Educating our Nation’s Politicians about our Initiative “Robotics as a Stimulus for Economic Growth”
It was a big day for Team 5437. We had the pleasure to host four distinguished guests: Arkansas House Speaker Pro-Tem Rep Jon Eubanks, Arkansas Senator Gary Stubblefield, US Representative Bruce Westerman, and John Novak, a living legend in the Arkansas FIRST community. We took this opportunity to educate our Nations Politicians with a presentation. With our presentation “Robotics as a Stimulus for Economic Growth” we are educating the importance of a Highly Qualified workforce combined with our deep moral values and how this is a very valuable asset for our region. We especially want to thank Rep Eubanks and Senator Stubblefield for sponsoring our team!
Bruce Westerman Visiting our Pit!
It was such a pleasure and honor to have Congressman Bruce Westerman stop in and visit our pit at the Rock City Regionals. We appreciate his support!
Our Start
Team 5437 started in the off season game of 2014 as a result of a challenge from Rockline Industries at our local Chamber of Commerce Banquet. The $5,000 initially pledged by Rockline was matched by First Western and the team was formed. Rockline also provided a build area and an engineering mentor. The team originally began with 7 members.
Congressman Bruce Westerman at Rock City Regionals
“I am grateful to have an opportunity to speak at the 2017 FIRST Robotics regional competition. Robotics encourages STEM education and develops a collaboration with high school students and business professionals that will result in a workforce ready to meet the needs of industry in the 21st century.” cc: Arkansas FIRST Incorporated
I am grateful to have an opportunity to speak at the 2017 FIRST Robotics regional competition. Robotics encourages STEM education and develops a collaboration with high school students and business professionals that will result in a workforce ready to meet the needs of industry in the 21st century. cc: Arkansas FIRST Incorporated
Posted by Congressman Bruce Westerman on Friday, March 10, 2017
Sharing Message of STEM and FIRST with Governor Asa Hutchinson
Our team had the opportunity to have a personal meeting with our states Governor Asa Hutchinson. The Governor was very impressed with our Team and our message. Here is what he tweeted: @AsaHutchinson Team 5437 Tweet. While we spoke with the Governor we were able to lobby for funding allocated for STEM in Arkansas, and the bill later passed. We consider ourselves very humbled and blessed for this oppourtunity!