2015 Bring Your Kid to Work Day
On Thursday, June 25, Team 1967 attended Bring Your Kid to Work Day at Intel, where they showcased their robot. When the Janksters were sighted in the halls of Intel with their robot, employees and their children grew excited; having worked with Intel in the past, the Janksters had developed a reputation for being a fun, STEM-oriented group of girls. By the time Team 1967 had finished setting up their area, a crowd of children and adults had already formed around the girls, waiting to see the robot in action. Though the 2015 robot, Grace, was unable to be driven, she amazed the audience as she lifted gray totes off the ground to form a stack; after showing off the robot’s capabilities, the Janksters invited children forward to control the robot and get a better idea of how she works. By the end of the day, Grace had been operated by over 130 children and adults; amazingly enough, more girls had controlled the robot than boys!
“When I was explaining the robot to the kids, I noticed one of the boys was wearing a Team 1967 button from 2014. I think he came to our booth last year too and wanted to see us again! It feels good to know that we’re making a difference in attracting kids to engineering.” --Tamara Kawa, '16
“I love introducing a person to the FIRST robotics community and seeing how amazed they are to know that our team built the robot all on our own. I also love it when the kids feel empowered.” --Camille Miller, '16
As the day progressed, the Janksters found that Bring Your Kid to Work Day was much more than just an opportunity to let kids drive the robot. When the children picked up their first tote and began to form a stack, they began to ask questions about how the robot worked. Some children put down the controls to get a closer look, pointing to electrical and mechanical parts to learn their function. Two children in particular, a girl and her brother, were utterly fascinated by the science behind the robot and stayed with the team for a long time; one of them even asked to see the robot code. Camille Miller, ‘16, observed that “They ended up knowing how to control the robot better than I did!” The Intel employees also asked questions about the robot and the team, and some asked about how they could get their children into similar programs. By the end of the day, the Janksters had even connected with an ND alumna and gained a new mentor, a female electrical engineer! Team 1967 loved meeting all the children and engineers at Intel, and they can’t wait to attend next year!