There are many different challenges that HS Robotics teams in our region face annually. One of the largest of these is geographic isolation compared to their peers in central Minnesota. The NMRC covers more than 25,000 square miles and stretches from Hatton, ND to Grand Marais. We have members as far north as International Falls and we dip as far south as Upsala. 

For the vast majority of our teams access to a fully functional robotics field other than during competition is virtually nonexistent. Up until last year there was only one field in Minnesota, that a team could possibly get access to year round. This field is owned and operated by one of our founding member teams, 3102 the Tech-No-Tigers in Nevis. 

For the past seven years the Nevis HS team has worked diligently to help area teams by giving them access to their field throughout the season. They have hosted both a kick off event and a scrimmage prior to the competition portion of each season. This allows teams to get on the field for the first time in almost nine months. For the past three seasons they have transported, set up, and run their field for teams to practice on during large scale regional robotics competitions in both Duluth and Grand Forks. The large scale event in Duluth has had as many as 124 teams from around the world in attendance in each of the last few years. 

In an effort to assist team 3102 in their charitable work and potentially increase field access for area teams the NMRC is excited to unveil the very first Mobile Robotics Field Trailer in Minnesota. This trailer will house and transport the Nevis field throughout NMRC territory and beyond. 

During Covid 19, our mentors gave the team ‘choice’ in a direction for the Infinite Recharge 2 season. Since we had only 4 returning members, we decided to build a new robot and we decided to introduce a STEM robotics activity curriculum for grades K-6.

This was a choice designed to engage our small community. We worked as a team to choose the seven activities for the grades, and we were able to receive a grant from 3M/Wonewok to purchase all the materials we needed.

We look forward to teaching our students these fun interactive units, and inspiring them through STEM. 

 

Kindergarten- Climbing Robot

First Grade- Rocket Shoot

Second Grade- LED Throises

Third Grade- Wiggle Bot

Fourth Grade- Bristle Bots

Fifth Grade- Hour Of Code

Sixth Grade- Gravity Defying Robot

Team 3102 has been very fortunate to have Nevis Public School at its back.  In 2016, our team won its first trip to the FRC World Championship and with that amazing opportunity came support from our administration to institute Lego and Vex curriculum in 4th, 6th, and 8th grades. In a District where there is a large diversity of household incomes, all students would now have the opportunity to be exposed to STEM in their regular school day.

 The following three years brought a remarkable shift in our thinking on FLL as a priority for our area. FIRST Lego League has always been an optimistic goal.The multifaceted nature of our team members, the multiple roles that our mentors hold, and the lack of engineering and technology industries in our area, combine to make a sustainable FLL challenging.  Our shift was to promote equality and opportunity to ALL the kids in our area through classroom programs. We live in a low income area, with an average household income of $54,000, and through our Lego and Vex curriculum in the classroom allows us to impact 130 students annually with robotics programs in the school. The interactions between 3102, staff and students k-12 are vital to our FRC success and provide EVERY student with 3 classroom robotics experiences prior to joining FRC.