This document discusses strategies for using robotics programs to build community engagement and interest in STEM in a small town and surrounding area. It proposes using a "sales funnel" approach with multiple entry points to attract interest from casual encounters to long-term participation. These include hosting a robot parade and workshops at various community venues to attract initial interest, followed by half-day or longer programs like coaching teams or hosting tournaments to deepen engagement. The goal is to sustain interest through recurring events, school programs, social media and corporate sponsorship to establish robotics as an expected part of the community and support growth of STEM careers.

1. Casting a Wider Net with Robotics-
For a bigger Community Impact
Making a difference in your community is more than a single robotics team. We will
show how an ecosystem of robotics in our small town of 20,000, plus the larger area
of Roanoke Blacksburg (200,000), can build community awareness so that families
and companies keep FIRST top-of-mind, from casual encounters to lifelong
participants.
FTC Team 4924
New River Robotics Association
Christiansburg, Virginia

2. Overview
• Our team & Authors
• Why Robotics?
• Devotion to FIRST
• The Sales Funnel overview
– Top: 10 minutes to light a fire
– Mid: 4-8 hours to fan the flame
– Neck: Build commitment
– Sustain: Community buy-in
• Adapting a formula for your success
• Q&A

3. Our Team
• Tuxedo Pandas FTC 4924
– 3rd time at World Championship
– Virginia Inspire award 3x
– 7th-10th grade, no special reqm’t
• Franky Marchand
– Plant manager, Dublin, VA
– FLL Coach 3 yrs, FTC Coach 4 yrs
– Tae Kwon Do, Music, Charity
– Isabelle Marchand – Outreach Coach
• Henry Bass
– Runs a 20 person software consulting company
since 1996
– FRC Sponsor since 2001, FLL Coach since 2003,
FTC since 2011,
– Army Reserve, Boy Scouts, Technology Council,
Church, Moderator
– Lisa Bass – Logistics Director

4. Our Area
• Rural Southwest Virginia: 5 hours to DC, 3.5
hours to Richmond.
• Roanoke, VA is 45 minutes
• 20,000 population
• Yes, we do have
indoor plumbing.

5. So you like STEM. Why Robots?
• 70+ Research studies
• Casual Learning, Informal Science
• Tremendous
breadth
• Kids like it
• Adults like it

6. The Family of FIRST
FIRST® Progression of Programs
From “What’s FIRST?” 2014, USFIRST.org
4,500 teams 26,762 teams 4,450 teams 3,000 teams
27,000 kids 267, 620 kids 44,500 kids 75,000 kids
• This is HARD WORK! The Choir knows!
• When you saw the cliff, did you jump?

7. Sales Funnel: Marketing 101

8. What’s our STEM funnel?
• Desired outcome: increase STEM careers in
our [World, Country, Village]
• FIRST = HIGH engagement
• Get those leads moving along
• Think about long term: feeding the cycle
• Identify gaps in the marketing plan
• Disguise it as fun!

9. Funnel Fundamentals

10. Robots all over the map
Age of Student
HoursofCommitment
Opportunity for Engagement

11. Inspiration for the top element
In 10 minutes, how can you attract a tween’s
attention?

12. Robot Parade
• Encourage wide participation
• Rules:
– Robot must follow a line
– Robot must stop when it reaches an obstacle
• Everyone who completes the circuit gets a
medal
• Must be a student…
We got our Technology Council and Science Museum involved!

13. Robot Parade

14. Robot Parade

15. Robot Parade

16. Robot Parade

17. Robot Parade

18. Robot Parade

19. Involve Parents & Adults

20. Quick encounters
• Visit the parade
• “Fix” our robot
• Building with Lego around a theme
• Play our game: Demo Bots
• Robot Driver’s License
• Corporate Appearances
• Science Festival

21. Fix our robot

22. Fix our robot

23. Theme-based Lego building

24. Theme-based Lego building

25. Play our Game

26. Play our Game

27. Robot Driver’s License

28. Corporate Family Day

29. Virginia Science Festival

30. Quick encounters in the community
• Mud Run
• Fish Fry
• FLL exhibition
• Plant Tours
• Community service projects
• Lions Club
• YouTube Channel
• Technology Council

31. Mud Run

32. Fish Fry

33. FLL Exhibitions

34. Plant Tours

35. Community Service

36. Lions Club

37. YouTube Channel

38. Working with our Tech Council
• Regional Technology Councils: Chamber of
Commerce on steroids
• Vested interest in increasing STEM-savvy
employees in the region
• Difficulty reaching the larger businesses …
until now!
• Huge asset for publicizing events, volunteers,
and venues

39. Technology Council

40. RBTC Involvement

41. Fan that flame: 4-8 hour experiences
• Robot Parade workshops
• Community workshops
– Library
– YMCA
– Science Museum
• Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts STEM Merit Badges
• Panda-for-a-Day program at our shop

42. Community Workshops

43. Community Workshops

44. Community Workshops

45. Boy Scouts

46. Boy Scouts

47. Boy Scouts

48. Boy Scouts

49. Boy Scouts
Lessons Learned
• Competitive element
• Start with a partial solution
• Add on elements as time allows
• Keep it simple
• Protect from floor
• Keep kids in teams

50. Girl Scouts
• National Program for
achievement badges
• Develop 5 requirements
• Adjust for age-appropriate levels
• Design the badges
• Publish and promote
Brownies Juniors Cadets Seniors Ambassadors

51. Brownies
1. Explain what robots can do.
2. Design a simple robot.
3. Program a robot to complete a simple task.
4. Participate in a fun challenge.
5. Learn about STEM.
1. Describe the similarities & differences among 3 types of robots.
2. Design a simple robot
3. Program a robot to complete three tasks.
4. Participate in a competition.
5. Name three career opportunities in robotics and learn the
education, training, and experience required for this profession.
Seniors & Ambassadors

52. Commitment: FIRST programs
• Coach a team, but also…
• Mentor other teams
• Technology Council involvement
• Schools – funny story!
• Host a tournament
• Promote students graduating to next FIRST level
• FTC and FRC – Small biz/Large Corporation
• Make it LOUD!

53. Sustain the flow
• Build a rhythm in the community
• Education venues
– Public Schools
– Private Schools
– Community College
– Universities
• Social media
• Website
• Local Corporate Sponsors
• Print and TV, too.
• What’s in it for business?

54. Bring FLL Excitement to Adults!

55. Wrapping Up: Go with the Flow!
• Catch their attention with robots in the hands
of other kids having fun!
• Engage kids and parents
for a half day or so.
• Support development
of new teams, nourish
existing teams
• Build a recurring calendar to create the
rhythm your community comes to expect
• Involve businesses – the ultimate benefactor

56. Let’s hear your ideas!
• Quick, casual science
• Engaging 1-day projects
• Cross-collaboration with other organizations
• Raising community awareness
• Keeping science fun