FRC Team 5437 The Rocky Balboabots
Home of FRC Team 5437 the Rocky Balboabots
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.
Congratulations to our friends the rookie team MPV Stingerbots from Mulberry, Arkansas on winning the Rookie-All Star award at the Rock City Regional! They are attending the Houston World Championship this year in April. We are so proud of you, you have come such a long ways this past year! Good luck, we look forward to seeing you there!
Posted by Team 5437 Rocky Balboabots on Thursday, March 15, 2018
We are Team 5437, and this is us. We strive to change the world by impacting those not only in the communities around us, but also in communities miles away. We believe that through dedication, perseverance, and teamwork, anything can be accomplished. In our Chairman’s award, we tell of our humble beginnings as the underdog, and how we pushed through the hardships striking our town to assist in the attraction of the prosperous gazes of companies upon our promising area: All we needed was a chance to show it. These past three years have brought forth many new opportunities to the new generation of innovators living in our small town. Our collaboration with the businesses and companies around us, along with the government officials in our town and state, has provided us the chance to introduce the next generation of workforce members to careers they might not have known of. The shot we were given when we originally learned of FIRST opened doors we didn’t even know existed, let alone ones we could actually walk through, hand-in-hand with other low income, hardworking communities. We are honored to be affiliated with such a powerful and inspiring vision of the future.
On Tuesday, December 19, 2017 our team spoke with our state and community leaders about the influx of job opportunities brought about by the increased amount of quality workforce members established by our team’s coordination with FIRST.
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.
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.
Our team had the privilege to speak with our city’s mayor, Jerry Wilkins, to introduce the idea of a Mayor’s Youth Council. He toured our STEM Lab and Build facility. We introduced him to F.I.R.S.T. Inspires ideology and our teams Initiative. We took this opportunity to educate our Mayor 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. After meeting with him he is thrilled to see the initiative of the young minds of his town and gave us a green light to draft a presentation to create a Mayor’s Youth Council. With the Mayor’s Youth Council the youth of our community will have the opportunity to learn how their local government operates. This council will prepare and educate our future leaders. Through our initiative we are paving the way for STEM and creating the next generation of leaders.
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
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.
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.
Our team had the opportunity to be part of the Fort Smith business expo. It was an honor to be invited. While there we had the opportunity to educate many different political, educational, and industrial guest on First and the difference it is making in our Worlds youth
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.
Our team has been invited to the Fort Smith Business Expo on May 5, 2017. Our team will be speaking to several companies about FIRST Robotics.
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!
Our Team showed our robot at our local CV’S Kids Day. (And of course we had to have our own fun!!!)
BHS is proud to announce that Alexis Danekas and Will Tanner from our Robotics Team spoke to 22 superintendents about the new Robotics Program with the University of Arkansas Ft. Smith.
In 2016 Team 5437 presented to the school board to implement a College Concurrent Credit Robotics class through the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. Upon approval the school has started this class, where students receive on hands learning with ABB robots, soldering circuit boards, and other fundamentals of electronics.
Team 5437 sought out to inspire the minds of the younger generation by starting a FLL team. The team presented the idea to the school board with the help of interested mentors, and soon 2 FLL teams were approved. Team 5437 members have dedicated their time to mentor the rookie FLL Teams.
Our Team had the privilege to show Congressman Bruce Westerman our 2016 competition robot.
“I really enjoyed my visit with the Booneville Public Schools FIRST Robotics team yesterday. They are a talented group of students who call #ar4 home.” -Congressman Bruce Westerman
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!
