Outreach | warpdrive

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

WARP Drive Community Outreach

Creating and Mentoring New VRC Teams

At the beginning of each season, our entire program meets to discuss the major community outreach projects that we would like to complete during the upcoming season. This year we have more events planned than ever before! Our major contributions to the community, this year, include:

creating and mentoring three new VRC middle school teams,
performing robotics demonstrations at major events around our community to promote VEX Robotics and STEM education,
providing STEM and robotics summer camps for elementary and middle school students,
volunteer to complete a major community improvement project during the United Way Day of Caring,
and host a VRC event at our school during engineering week. aimed at further promoting robotics.

In 2014, WARP Drive offered to create and mentor new VRC teams at any local elementary or middle school interested in implementing a robotics program. Two middle schools signed up for our offer and we have been working together ever since.

WARP Drive began by working with the new team and coach to find funding and equipment to start the program. We even donated some of our own equipment to these teams in order to ensure they had everything needed to be an effective and competitive VRC team. More importantly, we have donated our time. Prior to starting the team, WARP Drive offered several weeks of robotics camps over the summer, taught by our own team members, designed to introduce these young engineers to the world of VEX Robotics.

Currently, WARP Drive has created, and continues to mentor, three new VRC middle school teams. We meet with each team 3 or 4 times per month, travel to competitions together, and serve as mentors and role models for these future WARP Drive team members!

WARP Drive Mentors Two VRC Teams from Laing Middle School

WARP Drive Mentors New VRC Team from the Advanced Studies Magnet Middle School

Promoting Robotics Through Community Demonstrations

WARP Drive performs dozens of demonstrations at various locations and events around the Charleston area. We demo our robots at many career fairs, STEM festivals, technology conferences, back-to-school nights, PTA meetings, and we were even invited to exhibit our program at the national DIG Show Technology and Innovation Conference!

Our goal for these demonstrations is to generate excitement and interest for robotics among our community. We want to showcase the incredible STEM opportunities that lie ahead for the younger students at these events!

Promoting VEX Robotics and STEM Education Through Engaging and Exciting Technical Demonstrations

Providing Free Robotics Summer Camps for All CCSD Students

WARP Drive team members give up three weeks of their summer vacation to provide an engaging and fun robotics camp designed to introduce VEX Robotics and other STEM-related topics to any and all CCSD students who may be interested.

These camps are free to everyone and have continued to grow in popularity each summer. During the first week of camp, students construct a basic "Claw-Bot" using VEX robotics equipment from our program. Various fun and engaging challenges are worked on throughout the week, which culminates in a Swept Away competition. The second and third weeks of camp focus on programming. Field trips to Boeing, Cummins, and SPAWAR are also provided for students so that they may make a connection with the relevance of the STEM content we teach at camp.

Promoting VEX Robotics and STEM Education Through Free Summer Camps

Volunteering For Community Improvement Projects

For the past few years, our entire team spends a full day volunteering for the "United Way Day of Caring" which spends time working on a project meant to improve the school in some fashion. One of the past projects we have worked on was the design and construction of a patio and greenhouse in our school's courtyard. This greenhouse was built for use by students in the special education program. Students plant and care for flowers and herbs, which are then used by our culinary program to prepare food for various school events.

This past year our robotics team spent our volunteer time building a reading garden, raised plant beds, benches, walkways, and a small patio, in our other school courtyard. This project was recently handed over to the students in the botany class/club so that they can grow various plants and flowers.