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Schools

Robotics Team in Need of a New Home

The team is comprised of high school students from East Hartford, Vernon, Tolland, Bolton, and Manchester and the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy.

Members of the local robotics team learned recently that the place they called home in East Hartford will no longer be available for their use after June.

The high school team is seeking assistance from the community to help them find a new place to call home.

F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) R.A.G.E. (Robotics and Gadget Engineering) Robotics Team is looking for a new sponsor to assist the team with a space to meet, design, build, and practice its robotic creations.  R.A.G.E. robotics has been in existence since the fall of 1994, and is composed of high school students from East Hartford, Rockville, Tolland, Bolton, and Manchester; the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy; engineers; parents; teachers; and other volunteers, according to the R.A.G.E. web site. The group was the national champion in 2002 and placed third in the world in 2005 and 2007.

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Chuck Nystrom, a high school science teacher, has been the team leader for the local team for 17 years.

“This program is the best way to really show kids what they learn in class with math, science, and technology, is what can be done with it in the real world,” Nystrom said.

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Without proper space the program will be impacted, Nystrom said.

“It’s sad, having that space let us do so much.  We won’t have a place to have meetings and to teach,” he said. “It won’t mean the end, but it will mean a very different look.”

The group is seeking space that would have several rooms that could be set up as classrooms: one for computers (six to seven work stations), one for spirit, and a larger room capable of holding 40 to 50 people for team meetings, according to the web site.  The team also needs a workshop space where members can use several small tools (drill press, sander, table saw, band saw, etc) that allow them to build a field and robot. Ideally there would be space to build a playing field (30-by-75-feet) where the team could practice throughout the season.

The benefit for a sponsor is that it is a tax deduction because the team is an incorporated nonprofit organization, Nystrom said.

“It would provide a great community service and be a benefit to a huge number of students in our community and beyond,” he said.

“This is good for business.  You encourage an alternative way for kids to learn,” said Maire Cusson, the president of the board of directors said.  “This is a program that can help students who are disenfranchised from regular schools.  To have this kind of background is beneficial for students when they go into math, science and/or technology.”

This year the group of approximately 35 students is graduating 12 seniors, half of which are girls who are all going into engineering or high tech careers, Cusson said.

“To have that kind of leg up going into these engineering schools is huge,” she said. “This program is not to supplant the traditional public school, it is to enhance it.”  

The team has influenced the lives of hundreds of students through the years through promoting the values of gracious professionalism as they learned how to master the intricacies of robotics, team building, cooperation, and engineering. These STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields are critical components in today’s society, according to the web site.

Former team member Rachael Nystrom said her experience with the group gave her life experiences.

“There are a lot of things about F.I.R.S.T. that are incredible,” she said. “The biggest thing that I got out of it was working with everyone. Your team is your family. You become bonded.”

Rachael Nystrom said she was disappointed to hear that the space in East Hartford was not going to be available to the team because having that area was a benefit for the team’s success.

“The space is extremely important. It can be downplayed,” she said. “But something we get from the space is that everything is in one place and the team didn’t have to keep moving things around.”

The group meets at least weekly most of the year with a short break in the summer, Chuck Nystrom said. In the fall students spend time learning about the programs (C++ and Solid Works) that are used to create a robot. In January they receive the year’s challenge and have six weeks to design and create the robot for the year’s competition. The group does not receive any local funding, but receives monies from United Technologies Corp. and fundraising efforts to purchase supplies and pay for travel costs for competitions.

The group has been working with the local board of education and the Tolland County Chamber of Commerce in looking for space. 

Anyone who can help the team with spacing needs please contact Maire Cusson at maire@ragerobotics.com or Chuck Nystrom at chucknye@msn.com.

For more information about the R.A.G.E. Robotics team visit http://www.ragerobotics.com or F.I.R.S.T. robotics program www.usfirst.org.



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