Team 967: The Power Of The Stem Program

Walt Disney, the man behind the magic, once said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” With that in mind, Team 967, the Iron Lions, strives to encourage as many people as possible to see the potential in themselves through the STEM and FIRST programs. FIRST is the stepping stone many young students are taking into the STEM program throughout their primary school years and up into middle and high school. The program itself aims to inspire leadership in all ages, while infusing science and technology with crucial values such as confidence, determination, and coopertition. The Iron Lions demonstrate the positive impact FIRST can have through the creation
Annual appearances in the high school’s homecoming parade increases district awareness of the program in addition to providing an easy way to spread STEM and Lego League information attached to candy given to young interested parade-watchers. In 2010, Linn-Mar Robotics was voted the best float by the judging staff. This really showed that people were noticing the program and became excited to see the robots featured on the float. Within the high school, the Iron Lions spread FIRST ideals by incorporating other departments and clubs into their activities. By reaching out to groups like Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Key Club, and Speech, team 967 spreads the message of FIRST and STEM awareness to the high school program. Groups such as these have many skill sets that help 967 learn to be about “more than robots.” Likewise it brings new perspectives into play, and often aids in finding a solution to problems. An example would be the FBLA’s help in preparing the Iron Lions for their Chairman’s presentation in exchange for help learning to use new computer software. This cross-departmental collaboration works to unite groups and builds recognition between many of the programs the high school has to
In 2012 the team put together “Robo-Thanksgiving” for the first time after a student learned that a local assisted living complex would otherwise be given bagged lunches rather than a traditional turkey dinner. With the help of many generous parents, the students managed to organize enough food to feed over 100 residents, staff, and family members on the day before Thanksgiving. The event was successful because it brought together the families at the center as well as the team. This was the first major function the students had to come together to pull off and really brought out the unique characteristics among them. Due to its uniqueness, few resources were able to help the team when planning the event. To help future FIRST teams that wish to host similar events the Iron Lions have started a “how-to” book of all the things they have learned in the last few years. This book will be published on the Linn-Mar Robotics