BEDFORD — The 2023-2024 FIRST Robotics Season has come to a close for the youth of Lawrence County, but that does not mean that the work of learning has stopped. The 4-H STEAM Club still has much in the pipeline.
The 4-H Club Superior STEAM took their FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams to the State Championship on March 9th; both teams did well on the field.
The rookie team finished 10th out of 24 with a 2nd-place Judge’s Award.
The veteran team finished 17th and won the Motivate Award.
The Motivate Award “celebrates the team that represents the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition through Gracious Professionalism® and general enthusiasm for the overall philosophy of FIRST and what it means to be a FIRST Tech Challenge team. This is a team that makes a collective effort to make FIRST known throughout their school and community and sparks others to embrace the culture of FIRST.” They were also given the “Thank you for being on time award” from the state’s head referee.
Though neither team advanced to the World Championship in Houston this year, only two of the 71 teams in the state advanced. The club ended the season with 20 awards spread across 13 teams and a volunteer award for their lead mentor.
Now, the kids are ready for next year’s season and the club’s summer activities. The club offers several summer activities to members and the public at large. Every year, the club hosts STEAM Nights run by the older members from the FTC teams, CTF, and Fast Food Robotics.
This year, the STEAM Nights will last a week, which was previously two days. The Superior STEAM Week is June 3rd through June 8th from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., with different activities planned each night. The camp is open for students 5-18 years old. Please sign up on the club’s website and select STEAM Week on the form.
The club also hosts Lego Lessons for students 5 through 12 years old. The Lego Lessons focus on teaching programming and building with Lego Education software and hardware. Students will follow tutorials to learn how to build and program different projects on LEGO Education’s Spike software and others selected by club members. Lego Lessons happen every Monday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., starting June 17th and ending July 22nd.
The club is also planning a summer Osmo Learning Class, which will be bought with the largest grant in the county from the Lawrence County Community Foundation and run by an IU School of Education student. All ages love Osmo, but this class is especially for Pre-K through 6th grade. The kids in this program learn reading, math, and more through the interactive tablet app and physical pieces. The program starts with an assessment and will track the student’s progress with email updates. Osmo happens every Thursday starting June 20th and ending July 25th, with specific times for each grade level.
The Pre-K class will be from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. The 1st-3rd class will be from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. The 4th-6th grade class will be from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. The grade level is based on the incoming school year. Please sign up on the club’s website and select Osmo Learning on the form. With the close overlap of each grade’s time, please pick up your student on time so others can use Osmo. A waiting area for parents/guardians is available.
The club’s mission is to teach and inspire the next generation of scientists, artists, engineers, innovators, and leaders. All the events above are free for the public and club members. All you have to do is sign up on the website.
A complete list of events can be found at superiorsteam.org/events. If you have any questions, please email info@superiorsteam.org.
