• Introductory Presentations to FlRST and AutoCAD

During the pandemic, we wanted to make STEAM education available for kids who don’t have many opportunities available around them. Our team hosted presentations on Zoom that reached over 80 people at each session. Our presentations have inspired the youth in our community to participate in more STEAM related activities.

 

• 3D Printed Mask Extenders and Face Shields 

Hospitals in our community had a shortage of Covid safety gear like face shields, so our team 3D printed for our front liners as a ‘thank you’ for their service. We also 3D printed mask extenders which are plastic strips that attach to the ends of your mask to make the strain on the back of your ear bearable. We distributed these to people in our community.

• Covid Safety Posters

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, fake news about the virus skyrocketed, and people in our community didn't know what to believe regarding what was real news and what was fake. To help people keep safe and social distance, we put up Covid safety posters at local grocery stores and shops that people frequented the most. The posters also included symptoms of Covid-19, and the CDC hotline number.

 

• Hands on Techie Talks Podcast

The Hands on Techie Talks Podcast is a podcast that aims to make STEAM education accessible to everyone during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is hosted by one of our team members and one of our FIRST alumni mentors. Themes of the podcast are gender equity, environmentalism issues, STEAM learning topics and robotics! We also interview young STEAM superheroes. 

 

• Science Awards (SEFMD & SO)

The Science and Engineering Fair of Metro-Detroit annually holds a prestigious science fair competition to inspire interest in science for today’s youth. Out of the entire Metro-Detroit Area, 2 of our very own team members placed 3rd overall. Science Olympiad is a nationwide advanced science competition. Another one of our members is advancing to the state level competition.

• Summits Hygronics and Webasto Roof Systems 

Summit Hygronics and Webasto are two companies that our team contacted to grow our STEAM knowledge. We met people from these companies virtually and learned about interesting topics like the engineering of different car parts from Webasto Roof Systems, a company based in Germany, and about air filtration systems for medical purposes from Summits Hygronics, a company based in India. These were two very informative sessions, and we plan to share what we learned with others in our community. 

 

• Highlander Robotics Team KRASH

The KRASH Robotics Team #15465 is a team that collaborates with our team to help resolve issues with programming, design and build. Infinity and Beyond collaborates with other teams in our community as well. We, as a team, acknowledge that every team has difficulties this season, and that everyone needs a helping hand once in a while, so we thank Team KRASH for being there for us! 

 

• FRC Hammerhead Sharks Team 226 

Harshini Padala is a senior at Troy High School, and also the President of the FRC Troy High School team, Hammerhead Sharks Team 226. There are over 150 members on the team. Harshini has been a great motivation to us and Anish from the team has helped us with programming. With no coach for programming this year, it was very helpful to have some support. 

• Our Website

Our team has its own website to better inform and engage with our community. On it, you can contact us, look at our achievements in build, programming, outreach and in past competitions. You can also find information about each of our teammates as well as mentors and coaches because we value everyone on our team. We have a blog to keep people enlightened during this FIRST season. And lastly, we keep a page on FIRST and FTC on our website to better spread STEAM into this generation’s youth.

 

• Instagram

On our team instagram we post updates on our build and programming conflicts, our outreach and fundraising activities, and shoutouts to teams in our community and companies that have sponsored us. 

 

• Women of Worth NBC Special 

Our Mentor Danielle Boyer was recognized by L'Oréal Cosmetics Company’s Women of Worth program (a program that appreciates women who are making change in their communities) for the work that she does mentoring robotics teams. One of our members also participated in the special, where in our segment, we talked about our robotics team, outreach, and the FIRST Robotics program. The Women of Worth NBC special included various celebrities and aired live on primetime on November 25 this year, and is now available on HULU streaming service.

• Solidworks Panel

At 3D EXPERIENCE WORLD, one of our members participated in the Youth Educational Leaders Panel on February 9. We talked about challenges for women in engineering, or in any field, and ways to overcome the obstacles. We also talked about what we do for our community to make STEAM a more inclusive topic. The panel’s goal was to inspire others to get involved in STEAM.