Outreach
Women in STEM Event
For the first time ever, we hosted a women in S.T.E.M. outreach event. This was a very exciting and amazing achievement for our team. Saturday, March 2nd was a morning where girls from grades 4-6 connected with our female leaders and participated in a variety of S.T.E.M. related activities. We introduced three main concepts within our activities, projectile motion within their catapults, Newton's third law within their balloon cars and change in momentum within their egg drop. In total, we had 29 girls attend, and they all left with a wide smile on their faces and the new found knowledge that they took away from these activities. It was very successful and we are excited to make it an annual event and to offer more events that promote S.T.E.M. in the future.
LaSalle Strawberry Festival Parade
In June of 2023, a small group of our Wiredcats participated in the LaSalle Strawberry Festival Parade! This parade took place on the second day of the festival and it kicks off the fun activities for the weekend! The Wiredcats got to drive their robot, Pedro, and show off to those attending the parade. The students really enjoyed the event, and they are excited to hopefully continue this tradition for years to come.
John McGivney Outreach Event
From September to December 2023, the members of the Villanova Wiredcats visited the John McGivney Children's Centre to engage in STEM activities with the children. The John McGivney Children's Centre is a school that focuses on providing opportunities for children with disabilities through guided and personal care to help their abilities grow. The members brought Lego pieces to allow the children to flex their creativity muscles, ramps to allow the children to race Lego cars, Lego Mindstorms EV3 kits to introduce them to Lego robotics, and Caution the Cat for the children to drive around and complete different challenges. The children were very appreciative and absolutely loved playing with the Lego and seeing robotics at work, and the Wiredcats were so happy to have the opportunity to spend some time with these children and introduce them to the wonderful world of robotics. The Wiredcats were happy to teach and introduce these children to STEM in a fun and captivating way, something that our team always strives to do. The student outreach was incredibly impactful for everyone involved and the Wiredcats look forward to visiting again soon!
Lego Minifigure Design Challenge
Students who attend Villanova STEM feeder schools were given an opportunity to design a button for the 2023 FRC season! We received almost 300 submissions from dedicated students who wanted to share their designs for a potential button. Along with the design contest, each sheet asked the students the question: "What do you think you can learn from building with Legos?" The students were challenged to really think deep about the simple, yet expansive, building block toy. The papers also had valuable information about this year's season and introduced the students to the concepts of STEM. The winner of the challenge received a certificate congratulating them for winning the challenge. Buttons were made of their design for everyone in their class. Buttons were also made and distributed to every team that the Wiredcats competed against during their competitions throughout the season. We hope that involving students in our team outreach will encourage them to think about the world of STEM as they get older.