R o b o f e s t    eNewsletter, 10-27-06

 

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Contents:

(1)  RoboParade Practice Sessions This Weekend -- October 27 & 28 at LTU

(2)  OCCRA All Female Competition at LTU Saturday, October 28

(3)  MCWTF Offering Three $500 Grants to All Female Teams in Michigan 

(4)  Toyota Tapestry Grant Offers Funding for K-12 Science Teachers

(5)  Robofest 2007 Site Host Locations & Dates Announced

(6)  Robofest is Seeking Sponsors for 2007 Competition

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(1)  RoboParade Practice Sessions This Weekend -- October 27 & 28 at LTU

 

The world’s first Thanksgiving RoboParade will be held at Lawrence Tech in Southfield Michigan on Saturday, November 18, 2006. The parade is an opportunity for students to show off their robot floats as well as to form rookie teams.  As announced earlier, two 1.5 hour practice and informational sessions have been scheduled for the RoboParade.  Teams who are interested in participating should plan to come to Lawrence Technological University, Southfield Michigan for one of these two practice sessions in Room S-321 of the LTU Science Building:

 

- Friday, October 27 at 5:00 p.m.

- Saturday, October 28 at 11:00 a.m. 

 

Directions to LTU can be found at the following link: http://www.ltu.edu/contacts/directions.asp

 

Here is the link to the LTU campus map, the Science Building is No. 6 on this map: http://www.ltu.edu/contacts/campusmap.asp

 

Teams do not need to register for the practice session, but will need to register for the parade at a later date. We plan to spread this event to other cities for next year.

 

(2) OCCRA All Female Tournament at LTU Saturday, October 28

 

The Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association (OCCRA) regional competition for high school girls will take place this Saturday, October 28, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at LTU.  The competition highlights female teams from 20 high schools in Oakland County, Michigan will be participating.  Female students design and build robots weighing 120 lbs. that attempt to place balls in a goal while their opponents try to stop them. This competition generates enthusiasm for technical and academic disciplines such as design, engineering, physics, electronics and computer programming. The event is free and open to the public.  The tournament will take place in the Don Ridler Field House, Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield.

 

(3) MCWTF Offering Three $500 Grants to All Female Teams in Michigan

 

Robofest is pleased to announce that three grants of up to $500 each are available to all female Robofest 2007 Teams from Michigan.  The grant is being offered by the MCWTF (http://www.mcwtf.org).  If you are interested in applying for one of these grants supporting all female Robofest Teams from Michigan you can obtain the application on the Robofest web site, www.robofest.net or at http://www.mcwtf.org.  The grant application is due no later than December 15, 2006.  If you have difficulty accessing the site or downloading the application, please send an email to [email protected] or call 248-281-5391.

 

The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to inspiring and assisting girls and women in Michigan to pursue technology education and careers. We do this by providing educational programs and scholarships, as well as ongoing support as they move through the educational system.

 

(4)  Toyota Tapestry Grant Offers Funding for K-12 Science Teachers

 

A partnership between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and the  National Science Teachers Association (http://www.nsta.org )  the Toyota Tapestry Grants for Science Teachers program offers  grants to K-12 science teachers for innovative projects that enhance science education in a school and/or school district.  This year, fifty large grants of up to $10,000 each and 20 – 25 five mini-grants of up to $2,500 each will be awarded  to K-12 teachers of science in the United States.  Complete program information and the online application form are available at the NSTA Web site:  http://www.nsta.org/programs/tapestry/.  The deadline for submission is January 18, 2007.

 

(5) Robofest 2007 Site Host Locations & Dates Announced

 

The following Robofest Competition Site Host Locations and Dates have been confirmed for the 2007 Robofest Season:

 

  • ELPMIS, International, Singapore, November 21-24 (new site for ’07)
  • HanulKid Company, Ansan Korea, October/December
  • G.S. Lakie Middle School, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, March 17 (new site for ’07)
  • University of Detroit Jesuit Academy, Detroit, Michigan, March 23 (new site for ’07)
  • St. Clair County RESA, Marysville, Michigan, March 24 (new site for ’07)
  • Woodland High School, Woodland, California, March 24
  • Sky Valley Education Center, Monroe, Washington, March 24
  • Hill Country Middle School, Austin, Texas, March 31 (new site for ’07)
  • Macomb Intermediate School District, Clinton Township, Michigan, March 31
  • Hillside Middle School, Northville, Michigan, March 31
  • Video Submission Site for teams who do not have a competition site in close proximity they can  participate via video submission to Robofest, all submissions must be postmarked by April 13
  • St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas, April 14
  • Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan, April 20
  • Canton Charter Academy, Canton, Michigan, April 21
  • Macomb Christian Schools, Warren, Michigan, April 21 (new site for ’07)
  • World Robofest Championship, LTU, Southfield, Michigan, April 27-28

 

We are still working to confirm many competition sites and dates.  We will announce them to you as they are confirmed.  Anyone interested in being a site host should contact Lori Birman at [email protected]

 

 

(5) Robofest is Seeking Sponsors for 2007 Competition

 

In an effort to keep Robofest a low-cost affordable contest for everyone, we are seeking sponsors for the 2007 contest.  If you or your organization is interested in helping to support the important work of Robofest, please contact Lori Birman, [email protected]  Robofest appreciates any type of support, big or small.  Robofest accepts both cash contributions and in-kind services donations.  Donations such as robot kits, printing, signs, promotion, etc. are greatly appreciated.  Please contact us if you are able to support Robofest in any way. Robofest plans to print the promotional posters in December; so in order to put your company or organization logo on the poster, we will need sponsorship commitments by the end of November.  If a sponsorship pledge is decided before November 13th, your sponsorship will be recognized in various ways during the first Thanksgiving RoboParade.

 

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Lawrence Tech University Computer Science / Robofest World Headquarters

CJ Chung, Associate Professor, Robofest Director

Lori Birman, Robofest Coordinator

21000 W. Ten Mile, Southfield MI 48075

[email protected]           www.robofest.net

(248)204-3566                Fax: (248)204-3518