Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Now that we are back home and we have let it all sink in we are ready to post about this once in a lifetime opportunity that we were given. FIRST gives us all so many opportunities and experiences but none like the one that five teams got to experience on that cold Thursday, November 28, 2013.

Back in September we were invited to participate in the 87th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, we had a lot to do to get Daisy Thunder ready for the 2.5 mile parade. We needed to figure out a confetti shooter and our wheels, since they are meant to drive on carpet indoors not on the rough, pot hole streets of Manhattan, New York. 

Connor recalls his thoughts about being invited to the parade "When I first heard the news that our team was selected I was thrilled, but the team quickly realized that we would need to make some modifications to the robot before Thanksgiving.  We decided to use three batteries connected in parallel, and were satisfied after some testing.  To shoot confetti, we purchased a confetti launcher, mounted it to the robot, and rewired it to use our robot’s power distribution system rather than an internal battery.  After more testing we were ready to crate up the robot for New York."

Daisy Thunder about to be shipped off to The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanks to the generosity of FedEx our crate was shipped on Monday, November 18th and we would leave on Southwest Airlines the following Tuesday, November 22. 

Once we arrived in New York our plan was to check into the hotel, have a meeting and dinner with Texas Torque then head to the Empire State Building. After walking over to the Empire State Building in the rain we were told that we could use our tickets and head up to the top of the building but the visibility was ZERO. We all decided to take our chances and wait until Thursday to go to the top. 

Getting ready to be interviewed at Fox News & Friends with Texas Torque

Wednesday morning our team and the Texas Torque teams had to be in the hotel lobby at 4:00am EST to catch a ride over to Fox Studios to do interview on Fox News and Friends at 7:30am. None of us minded the early morning, we were in NYC "The City That Never Sleeps" and we were going to soak us all the energy. FIRST had sent a field down from New Hampshire to set up outside the Fox Studio but due to the heavy rain we were unable to have our robots outside. While sitting in the green room we were asked if our robot could shoot confetti in the studio, after looking at the low ceilings and the number of studio lights it was determined that we could not shoot in the studio. A short while later the producers came and said that we would be filming in the hallway. Due to the amount of people coming to work and the things hanging on the walls we were not able to shoot frisbees, which disappointed Maria Molina, the reporter interviewing us, she had been hoping for days to try to catch one of the frisbees as they were shot out of the robots. It was probably a good thing it was raining and we couldn't shoot them.

Once we finished the Fox interview and the box truck arrived to take our crates back to the warehouse the girls from our team raced back to our hotel for an interview with she knows.com . Once they finished their interview the guys were back and we were ready for our first subway ride to the Bronx to tour Yankee Stadium.  It was a great tour and only rained a little while we were outside. 

Danielle, Torstein, Kaithlyn, Jon, Connor and Cathy on the Yankees  field

The North Tower Pool

Once we left Yankee Stadium we took the subway towards Ground Zero. The rain and wind had picked up but we didn't mind after all we were in an amazing city only our mentors had been to before. We arrive at the memorial a little early but they let us start our tour then which we were appreciative of. After we went through all the security we came out near the South Tower, it was so calm and quiet in there, even amongst the noisy city. The water falls in this pool were falling nicely and it was such an amazing place to be. We walked over to the North Tower pool where the water was being blown out of the pool due to the strong winds, it was really just as amazing as the tranquil South Tower pool. Once we left we all decided we were hungry and really wanted to have some New York cheesecake. We found a restaurant near our hotel and ate then headed back to the hotel because we had to be in the lobby again at 4:00am to head to the beginning of the parade route to uncrate our robot.

Leading the parade with our banner

At 4:30am EST Texas Torque, Bomb Squad, Raider Robotix, SPAM Robotics, and our team had to  load the bus and headed up to 77th Street, the temp was a FREEZING 27 degrees, pretty cold for us thin blooded San Diegans.  Once the robot was uncrated we had several hours to enjoy the cold weather and tried to stay warm. "

Jackie (Bomb Squad), Kaithlyn, Danielle, Connor, Torstein
 and Cathy trying to stay warm before the parade began

Before we began we realized that the cold was making us leak all of the air our of our pneumatics and we had to have it in order to drive. We decided that it would be best to use a few zip-ties in order to hold the gearboxes in gear. So right before the parade started we locked the gearboxes in low gear," Torstein recalls  "As soon as the parade started we realized there was a problem. We couldn’t keep up with the parade because we were driving to slow.  We quickly threw the robot back up on our cart and ran to catch up with the other teams. After we caught up we decided that the best thing to do would be to try to fix the robot while walking.  We flipped the robot on its back and for the next quarter mile I walked backwards cutting the zip-ties off the gearboxes and putting new ones on to hold the drivetrain in high gear. A quick test to make sure it worked and we threw it back on the ground and began driving again.  From there on it was smooth sailing, handing out buttons and waving to the ecstatic crowds."

Once the parade was over, the crate was packed and loaded back on the box truck we headed back to our hotel to do several Skype interviews and phone interviews back in San Diego. In between interviews with San Diego 6 News, the San Diego Union Tribune, and News 8 here in San Diego many of us slept but we were excited to share our stories with all the people who have supported us along this amazing

journey. After the interviews we had about an hour until the bus left and took all the parade participants off to PJ Clarks for Thanksgiving dinner, what a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving, with our FIRST family.

Dinner menu

 After dinner we knew it was our last chance to get to the top of the Empire State Building, so we walked from the hotel and this time it was clear and we made it to the top of the most amazing building, with the best views of Manhattan.

The top of the Empire State Building

 Danielle sums up the trip by saying "I know I've said this many times before, but I feel so honored to be one of the representatives of FIRST for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was such an incredible experience and although I felt as if I were freezing nearly the entire time, I loved every second of it. My favorite part of being in New York was walking around and experiencing the atmosphere. The ambiance of New York was a bit different from San Diego, and I tried to soak up as much as I could. I'd love to go back again during another widely celebrated event like New Years." 

Even though we didn't have time to do most of the things we wanted to do and even though we saw more rain in two days than we see here in San Diego in four years it was the most amazing trip and we hope that this inaugural experience for FIRST turns into an annual event that many for teams will get to experience. To see more photos of all the the FIRST teams at the parade check out the link here.

2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Today we are very excited and proud to announce that we will be leading the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with FRC teams 16, Raider Robotix - FRC Team 25, FRC Team 180 - S.P.A.M. andTexas Torque! Thank you to FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Southwest Airlines and FedEx for making this opportunity possible! 

Here is the official FIRST press release

Robots Come FIRST^® at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade^®

FIRST^® Team Members and their Robots to Lead the 87^th Annual Parade 

in New York City with Help from Southwest Airlines and FedEx

November 07, 2013 01:52 PM Eastern Standard Time

MANCHESTER, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, announced today that five award-winning FIRST^® Robotics Competition (FRC^®) teams and their robots will have the honor of opening the 87^th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade^® on November 28, 2013 in New York City.

“Tuning into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an American tradition, and this year the first thing people will see in the parade is FIRST. Thanks to Macy’s, we have the chance to pique the curiosity of millions of young people, as well as potential Mentors, Sponsors, and Volunteers.”

For nearly a century, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been the official kick-off to the holiday season. Every year, this Emmy^® Award winning tradition is seen by more than 3.5 million people in New York and 50 million people at home, all tuned in to see giant balloons, one-of-a-kind floats, and now – robots!

Robots are no longer a sci-fi fantasy; in recent years, robots have become commonplace in many aspects of life, from cleaning floors to teaching in the classroom. Macy’s recognizes the importance and relevance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to their customers. Moreover, the company is sensitive to the need for STEM-workforce development, and understands that the key to expanding these fields is to inspire young people to take an interest in them.

“We are extremely excited and thankful for this unique opportunity that Macy’s has given us,” said FIRSTFounder, Dean Kamen. “Tuning into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an American tradition, and this year the first thing people will see in the parade is FIRST. Thanks to Macy’s, we have the chance to pique the curiosity of millions of young people, as well as potential Mentors, Sponsors, and Volunteers.”

Five FIRST Robotics Competition teams will proudly represent FIRST and its Progression of Programs with this trailblazing appearance, and will travel across the country to New York City to lead the historic parade.Southwest Airlines is the Official Air Travel Sponsor for this special appearance by FIRST teams, providing nearly $14,000 in round-trip air vouchers for the student participants and their adult Mentors. The teams’ robots will also travel for free thanks to complimentary roundtrip shipments from FIRST Strategic Partner, FedEx.

Award-winning FIRST Robotics Competition teams leading the 2013 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade include:

• Team 1538, The Holy Cows, from San Diego, Calif.;
• Team 1477, Texas Torque, from The Woodlands, Texas;
• Team 180, S.P.A.M., from Stuart, Fla.;
• Team 16, The Bomb Squad, from Mountain Home, Ark.; and
• Team 25, Raider Robotix, from North Brunswick, N.J.

At the beginning of each competition season, teams receive a “Kit of Parts” made up of motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, and a mix of automation components – with no instructions. Working with adult Mentors, student have six weeks to design, build, program, and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge.

The robots leading the 2013 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade were designed and built for the 2013 FRC ULTIMATE ASCENT^SM season challenge, and have been modified by the students to perform tasks specifically for the parade. Texas Torque’s robot, “SONIC,” will cut the ribbon to signal the official start of the parade. Following the ribbon cutting, the other teams’ robots will shoot confetti along the parade route. Students will then drive their 12v battery-operated, 150-pound robots down the entire 2.5 mile stretch, ending at Macy’s Herald Square.

The 87^th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will be aired live from New York City on November 28, 2013 beginning at 9 a.m. ET on NBC.

2013 Battle at the Border Recap

On Saturday, October 12, the gym at Francis Parker High School in San Diego was filled to the brim with students and robots for the third California off-season event this year: Battle at the Border.

Our team, Team 1538 - The Holy Cows and Team 2485 - W. A. R. Lords had the honor of co-hosting this action packed event. We had 29 California native teams attending and competing their hardest in the 2013 FRC game, Ultimate Ascent. Besides giving FRC teams something more to do during the Fall season, Battle at the Border is also the perfect event for helping team rookies to understand the competition process and see how their team works in its greatest moments.

We would like to congratulate the winning alliance: Team 3476 - Code Orange, Team 2485 - W. A. R. Lords, and Team 9399 (Team 399  B bot) - Eagle Robotics! We would also like to congratulate Team 3255 - SuperNURDs for the Gracious Professionalism award, Team 1538 - The Holy Cows for the Highest Quality award, Team 2485 - W. A. R. Lords for The Giving Award and Team 4322 - Clockwork Oranges for the Most Creative Robot award.

New this year, our team set up a webcast so friends, family and fans could watch from afar. Along with the live streaming, the matches were recorded and can be viwed here.

Battle at the Border continued its three-year partnership with the American Cancer Society and the San Diego Food Bank. We ended up raising $1000  for the fight against cancer and collected 100lbs of food for the hungry.

We would like to thank our great co-hosts for helping with running everything and Francis Parker High School for hosting the event. We would also like to thank George Chen and Jenny Yang for taking the time to announce the games. Finally, we would like to give a huge thank you to all the FIRST volunteers that helped us create another high quality San Diego FRC competition.

We wish everybody good luck for the 2014 season and hope to see everybody again next year.

- Nathan Rozenberg, Team 1538 - The Holy Cows Director of Public Relation

Chairman's Announcement

2013 Chairman's Video

Union Tribune Article

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/may/01/sd-school-wins-world-robotics-competition/#comments-module

SD school wins world robotics championship

Prize took more than building a machine for High Tech High Team

By Maureen Magee 08:35p.m. May 1, 2013

The status of the robotics team at High Tech High in Point Loma ranks so high, it just might be on par with varsity football in Texas.

So when the team known as the Holy Cows won top honors at the largest, most prestigious school robotics world championship in St. Louis this past weekend, it was a really big deal.

“Winning this award was quite possibly the proudest and happiest moment of my life. I still can’t believe it,” said Carmel Fiscko, 17. “It’s the first time I put so much of myself into working for a goal. It paid off in a way that has changed my life.”

The Holy Cows were among 58 of the best ranked robotics teams eligible to compete for the Chairman’s Award at the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis. All told, some 10,000 students from the U.S. and abroad participated in the competition before a crowd of 25,000.

The Chairman’s Award is the highest honor given at the competition, one that is awarded to the team “that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.”

Here’s just a few of things that caught the judges eyes. The Holy Cows doesn’t just win competitions (it has five regional championships under its belt) it also mentors 47 other teams, offers workshops and developed a robotics smartphone app.

“We’ve been working toward this for years. It’s an amazing way to celebrate our science heroes and to help inspire our kids to get into science, technology, engineering and math,” said David Berggren, a High Tech engineering teacher and regional director of FIRST who helps coach the team. “Our robotics team is like our football team, it’s the most well-known and well-respected team on campus.”

The FIRST Robotics Competition — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — was founded in 1989 by Segway inventor Dean Kamen and MIT professor Woodie Flowers in an effort to promote science and technology. Student robotics have since taken off to the point that teams have become campus staples that are as common as organized sports, choir and Spanish club.

Robotics teams build and program robots that are put to the test in intense competitions. Students also take on academic and public-relations tasks that promote their club on campus and in the community.

High school teams get assistance from engineers, scientists, designers and other professionals who help students prepare for competition and perhaps a college education or career in a related industry. Many get corporate sponsors. The Holy Cows’ sponsors include Qualcomm, SAIC and Nordson Asymtek.

When it comes competition time, each team gets six weeks to build its robot, from the same set of parts, and program the 5-foot, 130-pound mechanical entries to complete certain tasks — this year it was tossing discs into goals. Those vying for the Chairman’s Award must also submit an essay, deliver a presentation and participate in a question-and-answer session with judges.

But winning isn’t everything in robotics. Teams must build alliances with other teams and they get rewarded for using strategies that demonstrate cooperation over competition.

The rise of robotics has been helped by a national push to get more students interested in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — as the country seeks to improve its international status in these subjects that are increasingly essential to for students when it comes to college and careers.

For Carmel, the experience on the High Tech robotics team helped her decide to major in electrical engineering at UC San Diego, which she will attend in the fall.

“Robotics and meeting with people working directly in the field has really helped me figure out what kind of engineering I want to go into,” Carmel said.

High Tech High is one in a network of charter schools that — with technology — promotes project-based learning. Students often work on projects that combines disciplines, such as math and science.

“Our Holy Cows team really just does embody our commitment and passion for STEM education,” said High Tech Principal Brett Peterson. “It’s really just exciting to see an authentic application of math and science…”

President Barack Obama has lamented that lackluster math and science scores are hurting American students in their ability to take advantage of new jobs. He has called for the recruitment of 100,000 STEM teachers this decade.

A 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that during the past decade, growth in STEM jobs was three times greater than that of non-STEM occupations. The report also predicted that STEM jobs would grow at a faster rate than others in the coming years.

Championship Chairman's Award

Words cannot describe how we all felt on the night of Saturday April 27, 2013 when our team was announced as the 2013 Championship Chairman's Award winner. We are all so humbled and honored to be in the company of so many great teams to have won this award before us. 

 

Once we were on stage we were so excited to be able to dance and celebrate the energy of the entire Edward Jones Dome, what an experience! Many seniors kept saying "This is the last time I will ever get to dance to this song and I am doing it on the championship stage, how cool is that?!?!"

Kaithlyn, Jeremy and Carmel were the face of our team in the judges room and as you can tell by the looks on their faces coming out of the judges room they were happy with what they presented.

The night we got to St. Louis Carmel began to say her throat was a scratchy, by Thursday (the day before they were all to do their presentation) she was not able to speak. She powered through 2 presentations that day with a very hoarse voice. She continued to rest it for the day and Friday for the presentation it was a bit better. The Chairman's group went in and presented at 11:30am on Friday April 26, 2013 and since you all know the outcome of their work you all know this girl is awesome.

Best Practices For Community Outreach

Outreach is how a team engages in the community, the effort it takes to reach out to both contacts and strangers, and its endeavours to spread awareness for FIRST and STEM. Here are techniques that The Holy Cows have found useful for outreach in our community.

General Volunteering Events (unrelated to FIRST)

• First find where you’re going to do your outreach. (See Creating Relationships in the Community) It’s very useful to build long-standing relationships and return to events annually, so the organization will become familiar with your team and so it’s easier for you to plan your yearly schedule.
• If you have the opportunity to promote FIRST at a non-FIRST event, go for it! Ask the organization to see if you can set up a table with flyers and interactive material. We like to bring square-bots to events at schools or community fairs; kids can drive the robots while parents learn about FIRST by talking to team members. During many events you won’t have the opportunity to set up your own table, so take that chance to simply have fun with the event, help out as best you can, and leave by making a positive impact on the community and the people hosting the event.
• Make it a priority to bring the amount of people that you say you will, and be punctual.

FIRST Events (FLL/FTC/FRC competitions, off-season competitions)

• Invite as many people as you can to come to the event. This may not be realistic for a FLL Qualifying Tournament (QT), but it’s a good idea for a FRC Regional. Every year, we invite as many people as we can to the San Diego Regional; sponsors, politicians, media, parents, our school, and the general public. You can do that through emails, social media (Facebook), and handing out flyers.
• If you have VIPs coming to a FIRST event (such as a politician, sponsor, or the media), make sure you have experienced members from your team to show them around, explain the event, and answer any questions.
• Find out if there are other VIPs coming that your team did not invite and see if there’s a chance your team members can talk to them. If another team invited the VIP, be respectful and don’t try to steal them away, but it’s always good to say hello and introduce yourselves.

Politicians

• If your team has no political contacts, start small and work your way up. It may take several years, but if you begin by talking to district education officials, you can progress to talking to general city officials, the mayor, and then eventually to the state department.
• City officials will be your best friends; though they are frequently busy, many of them have a strong interest in supporting STEM education, and they are more readily available than state officials.

• Invite politicians to major FIRST events. If you have an established relationship with a politician, make the invitation personal.
• Research or ask about how you could get a city FIRST Day declared. It differs between cities, but generally if you’ve found a contact who loves FIRST, they are happy to support it by declaring a city day.
• Never let a contact trail off. Email the politician at least a few times a year, and make sure to introduce new members as veterans graduate.

Media

• Like with politicians, start small. It’s much easier to get local or neighborhood newspapers to write an article about you (or accept an article that your team submits), and then work up to citywide papers as your team gains prominence in the community.
• Though we’ve found newspapers as the best place to start, also look at online news, television, and radios.
• If you attend professional conferences, many times media will also be present. Talk to them and build contacts.
• Again, invite the media to major FIRST events and make sure that you retain media contacts.

School

• Be involved! Make sure your school knows about you and is excited for you. Encourage your team members to talk to other students about robotics. Attend school-wide meetings and show off your robots. Have a display case with some information about your team and awards you’ve received.
• Have a school spirit day, and encourage people to come to the local regional (if close by). Around the time of the San Diego Regional, The Holy Cows host a school-wide meeting where we talk about the game, present our robot, and invite people to come to watch us compete. And of course - we’ve been advocating that on the day of our meeting, people come to school dressed in black and white, sporting cowbells and Holstein spots.
• Sell team merchandise! The Holy Cows have a supporter shirt that we sell to non-team members, which is nearly identical to team shirts but with inverted colors and without sponsors. Many students and parents have bought shirts, which is wonderful for both spirit and fund raising. Bracelets are also popular.

Sponsors

• Send out a monthly update to keep sponsors in the know of what your team is doing.
• Invite your sponsors to all major events, both to thank them and to show what you’re doing.
• Ask to see if any employees could mentor you during the build season.

Social Media

• Have an active presence in whatever social media is most convenient to you. Our most successful media is our Facebook page, where a team member or mentor can easily post pictures or status updates with a smartphone. Whatever social media becomes your favorite, make sure that you can and do update it regularly.
• On your social media, apart from posting about your events, make sure to include photos, videos, and material to interact with your followers.

Find a way to reach out to people who do not have social media. We send out a monthly newsletter from www.mailchimp.com that goes to our sponsors, alumni, and parents.

Using Social Media

Social Media is a great way to promote your team and communicate with supporters, family members, sponsors and the general public. Be sure you always have plenty of clear and consistent marketing ideas.

The following are a few ways we use our Social Media marketing:

Monthly Newsletter~

This is a great way to keep sponsors, families, alumni, team members and outreach connections informed on what your team is doing and what events you are attending.

It is usually good to have three or four team members responsible for collecting outreach info and pictures and writing up a newsletter. We have found that MailChimp is a great and easy way to create a newsletter.

Google Calendar ~

Our team uses this to keep track of all of our meetings, deadlines for submissions,  conferences, outreach events and community service events. We have two team members responsible for updating the calendar for our website.

Facebook~

Facebook is a great way to keep your community and alumni updated with your team. You can also share upcoming events with team members and parents, this helps make communication easier.

• Create daily posts to include info, pictures, links and questions that relate to the team, FIRST and/or STEM
• Have one or two people who can be responsible for replying to post and or messages that come in within 24 hours, be sure that they communicate with each other.
• Search out relevant Facebook pages to “like”
• Actively share and comment on other “liked” Facebook page posts
• Post on other “liked” Facebook pages when relevant

Twitter ~                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Twitter allows you to quickly update your followers on how your team is doing, and keep in touch with other teams.

• Have one person post Tweets that may be different from Facebook - info, pics, links and questions that relate to the team, FIRST and/or STEM
• Respond to comments within 24 hours
• Search out relevant twitter users to follow
• Actively engage with other users and create a dialogue via reply and retweets
• Monitor FIRST key terms on twitter and google - #omgrobots, “The Holy Cows”, “Team 1538”, “Dean Kamen”, “FIRST Robotics”

Digital Media ~

By using digital media, you can:

• Arrange for team members to be at EVERY event to take pictures and/or video. Make sure they get it uploaded to a  team’s photo sharing account
• Ensure photos are organized / categorized
• Develop Animoto videos for key categories of photos - Past robots, Outreach Events, Awards, etc
• Post video onto a team Youtube account and share with other teams
• Coordinate a team member to take video and pictures at competitions, including off season events, outreach, team meeting and build season

Website ~

Here are some things to keep in mind while working on your website:

• Be sure that website is up to date
• Be sure that you have current contact information on your website so anyone can get in touch with you easily
• Provide info of managers and mentors, including a short summary of the position and a biography of the student or mentor
• Provide pictures and summaries of past robots
• Don’t forget functionality and convenience, keep links working and together

Team Blog~

Daily updates of what your team has done helps keep all your members up to date if they ever miss a day.

• Ensures that events are posted on the blog within 2 days of the event
• Post a minimum of 1x per week
• Each post should contain at least one large engaging photo or video.
• Be sure to tag post so someone looking for a specific topic on your blog can find it easily

Public Blog ~

This is a great way to communicate with your followers about what your team has done at an event, conference, workshop or tournament.

• Ensures that events are posted on the blog within 2 days of the event
• Post a minimum of 1x per week
• Each post must contain at least one large engaging photo or video.
• Bookmark each post (Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious, etc)
• Set up a Google Reader to follow other FIRST and/or STEM blogs
• Comment on other blogs