About 60 Cub Scouts and parents filled the Saline Middle School media center Thursday, Feb. 26, as members of the Hornet Hackers robotics middle school team hosted an outreach event featuring a Bristlebot Derby, a robotics room tour and live robot demonstrations.
Team members set up race lanes, demonstration areas and information tables before welcoming the scouts.
Bristlebot construction took place in the main area of the media center. Scouts assembled the small vibrating robots, typically made from a toothbrush head, a battery and a small motor. Many decorated their creations with pipe cleaners and googly eyes before lining them up to race across tables and marked lanes on the floor.
The robot demonstration was held in a smaller room off the media center dedicated to the school’s four middle school robotics teams. There, the Hornet Hackers showed their competition robot on the practice field. Purple and green game pieces were scattered across the mat as team members explained how the robot is controlled and how it scores during matches.
After walking into the robotics room and seeing the field set up, one Cub Scout turned to a parent and said, “This is better than my birthday.”
Throughout the evening, middle school students rotated between assisting with bristlebots, giving tours of the robotics room and answering questions from parents about middle school robotics opportunities.
The event gave younger students a hands-on introduction to robotics while allowing the Hornet Hackers to practice leadership and community outreach.
Featured photo: Members of the Hornet Hackers robotics team demonstrate their competition robot for Cub Scouts during a Bristlebot Derby outreach event. Photo by Heather Finch
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
