Sunday, May 31, 2009
Mina's Perspective
Mina (our driver):
I joined the Robotics Team in my senior year. Those cute posters to join the Iron Maidens Robotics Team have a lot of persuasion!
Although I've only been on the team for a year, it definitely was an enriching and fun year. I helped create a moving robot (who we named Robert, dibs by "Grandpa" Jason) and had the opportunity to drive it in the New York and Connecticut Regionals.
Although we did not place as well as we did last year, we still had a great time. The games were intense and fast paced—although watching the whole match on a video is a different story—and there were a variety of robots at the competition. Some were shooters, others were dumpers, and the rest were pinners.
Outside of the competitions, I tightened the bond with the team and met new people from the other teams. Before the Connecticut Regional, we had a sleepover at Mindy's house where we baked snacks and played games.
A word of advice, sleep more than an hour the day before you leave for a regional out of state! Believe me, I speak from personal experience! Sleepiness however is not a factor in the robotics competition. There is too much happening around you to feel tired at all. Robotics is time consuming but it is worth the effort! As for the preparation for the robotics competition, be well organized especially with time. You never know if the robot is really finished, little kinks sometimes appear, and you need time to smooth them out.
Since this is my first and last year on the Iron Maidens, I will say that I will miss the girls a lot. I look forward to coming back to the school to see you guys again and see how the team's doing.
I joined the Robotics Team in my senior year. Those cute posters to join the Iron Maidens Robotics Team have a lot of persuasion!
Although I've only been on the team for a year, it definitely was an enriching and fun year. I helped create a moving robot (who we named Robert, dibs by "Grandpa" Jason) and had the opportunity to drive it in the New York and Connecticut Regionals.
Although we did not place as well as we did last year, we still had a great time. The games were intense and fast paced—although watching the whole match on a video is a different story—and there were a variety of robots at the competition. Some were shooters, others were dumpers, and the rest were pinners.
Outside of the competitions, I tightened the bond with the team and met new people from the other teams. Before the Connecticut Regional, we had a sleepover at Mindy's house where we baked snacks and played games.
A word of advice, sleep more than an hour the day before you leave for a regional out of state! Believe me, I speak from personal experience! Sleepiness however is not a factor in the robotics competition. There is too much happening around you to feel tired at all. Robotics is time consuming but it is worth the effort! As for the preparation for the robotics competition, be well organized especially with time. You never know if the robot is really finished, little kinks sometimes appear, and you need time to smooth them out.
Since this is my first and last year on the Iron Maidens, I will say that I will miss the girls a lot. I look forward to coming back to the school to see you guys again and see how the team's doing.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Project Dynavox
Hi everyone! Irene and Amy are typing this blog.
Irene -
I'm currently a junior and I've been part of the Girl's Robotics Team since sophomore. I'm in the Construction Department and I'm pretty good at filing metals. Oh, if we ever a bake sale, I can bake yummy oatmeal cookies and a lot of people buy them! One of my favorite things in the Robotics Team is going to the competitions even though I'm exhausted at the end. If you see me in the lunch table, I'm usually eating a delicious sandwich that my mom makes and Olivia always comments on its (big) size.
Amy -
I'm a freshman and became interested in robotics through my friends. I hope that everyone will join this project and give to people who have troubles communicate with others. These people are just like us, and even though they have communication problems, we can still help them!
Dynavox is something we should all be involved in! :D
DynaVox (both) -
We will be teaching people how to program devices from Dynavox, which helps people who have trouble communicating with others. It is very simple and quick to learn. No experience is needed. It can also cause people to feel accomplished because they are helping others! (=
We hung posters in the hallways and made daily school announcements about it.
Our school's ARISTA, the national honors society, is also part of this project and students can get credit for participating. Hopefully, we can recruit more people to come especially the freshmen who not quite involved in any after-school activities.
Irene -
I'm currently a junior and I've been part of the Girl's Robotics Team since sophomore. I'm in the Construction Department and I'm pretty good at filing metals. Oh, if we ever a bake sale, I can bake yummy oatmeal cookies and a lot of people buy them! One of my favorite things in the Robotics Team is going to the competitions even though I'm exhausted at the end. If you see me in the lunch table, I'm usually eating a delicious sandwich that my mom makes and Olivia always comments on its (big) size.
Amy -
I'm a freshman and became interested in robotics through my friends. I hope that everyone will join this project and give to people who have troubles communicate with others. These people are just like us, and even though they have communication problems, we can still help them!
Dynavox is something we should all be involved in! :D
DynaVox (both) -
We will be teaching people how to program devices from Dynavox, which helps people who have trouble communicating with others. It is very simple and quick to learn. No experience is needed. It can also cause people to feel accomplished because they are helping others! (=
We hung posters in the hallways and made daily school announcements about it.
Our school's ARISTA, the national honors society, is also part of this project and students can get credit for participating. Hopefully, we can recruit more people to come especially the freshmen who not quite involved in any after-school activities.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
A Short Introduction
Hi!My name is Qurat and I have been with the FeMaidens since they first started in December 2006. Although I was not really involved until halfway through build season (a term that will soon define), robotics has become such a large part of my life that I now notice random engineering stuff in public--such as the rivets in the MTA subway cars and buses.
Here's a little of our team history:
We are a FIRST Robotics Competition team. FIRST's mission is "to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes."
Barry Weinberg donated $6000 to NYC-FIRST to start an all-girls' team. The Head Coordinator, Ana Martinez, then contacted the Bxsciborgs, FIRST team 1155, who had several girls' on their team interested in starting a new team.
The FeMaidens originally consisted of eight seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. The team now has one senior, twelve juniors, four sophomores, and three freshmen.
We also have 6 mentors: Michael Rainford, Jonathon Cook, Dorothy Fibiger, Nancy Philip, Elizabeth Lin, and Jessica Sattinger.
All of our history can be accessed at our FIRSTwiki and our website.
Feel free to comment. To contact us, just email us at femaidens@gmail.com.
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