People of all ages are invited to attend an open house hosted by Talon Robotics (Team 2502) at Eden Prairie High School‘s (EPHS) South Commons from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 3.
The team will demo its robot, show off the club’s STEM-related activities, and provide registration information for interested students in grades 4-12.
Talon Robotics is a FIRST Robotics Competition team started in 2007 by a group of five EPHS students. The team now has over 50 committed members, plus a large, supportive group of parents, alumni, and mentors.
The team works together to build robots that can complete specific tasks, then takes them to different competitions. Through the robots and community outreach, the team also works to spread awareness of STEM issues and teach STEM skills. The high school team also helps mentor younger students.
Eden Prairie Schools offers three different robotics teams: First Lego League (grades 4-6), First Tech Challenge (grades 7-8), and First Robotics Competition (grades 9-12).
EPHS team placed third this season
Dylan Curry, an EPHS sophomore who is the team’s business captain, said he’d encourage students of all ages to join one of EP School’s three robotics teams. He said the teams offer flexible schedules and a variety of roles, so even if students are involved in other sports and activities, it’s possible to do robotics, too.
The high school competition season runs from January to late March. “At the beginning of each season, we are given a new game and need to brainstorm the robot, then slowly build it out,” Curry said.
Curry explained that competing teams are all given the same objective, which they need to complete in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. EPHS’ team has five smaller build teams who all work to design, build, and test the robot.
“This year’s game was to balance cones and cubes onto these scoring tables, then from there, pick them up off the ground,” Curry said. “We brainstorm different ideas of how to do it. We had a really strong robot this year.”
This year the team won third overall in their category at the Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional competition in late March. EPHS team member Riley LaMothe also won the Dean’s List Finalist Award, and the team overall won the Excellence in Engineering Award.
The team will also enter its robot into the Minnesota State Fair robotics competition this summer, in the mechanical category. Last year, the team’s robot won that category. “We’re going for gold again,” Curry said.
Outreach and advocacy are also an important part of what the team does. In April, team members visited the State Capitol for STEM day to show off their robots and advocate for STEM and robotics-related bills.
To learn more about getting involved with Talon Robotics, attend the upcoming open house, visit the team’s website, or email captains@team2502.com.
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