Written By: Medha G, Dylan L, Charlotte S, Ben R, Dylan C
Monday 2/19 – President’s Day
On Monday the majority of the team had a day off. Of course, the robotics room was open for those willing to come on their day off from school. On Monday we mainly worked on bumpers while celebrating our past presidents. Not much to report on Monday, but it was a good start to the week!
Tuesday 2/20
The open room was packed with lots of progress and fun activities today! Our team continued work on the bumpers and saw great success, ensuring everything fits and stays together. The team also worked on our IMPACT video which will be sent to our competitions.
Later, the team had a fundraising meeting where we discussed our success at Culver’s, and we planned our future endeavors. Finally, there was a team meeting to discuss our exciting upcoming trip to Missouri. We went over our plan for the trip, and we are excited to compete and show off all of our hard work at Missouri! Today was another productive day, and we are excited to prepare for our upcoming trip!
Wednesday 2/21
14 days until we travel to Missouri! Excitement was high in the open room today as all of us started to daydream what was going to happen on the big trip. But before then, there is a lot to do to prepare.
![one student measuring the wooden bumpers]](https://team2502.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image-19-1024x683.png)
One big thing that we were working on is our bumpers. Bumpers are big wooden band-like structures that surround the bottom of our robot. They show what color alliance our robot is on in that particular round, and what our team number is. Though they seem simple, they can actually be quite complicated to build. Today, our big focus was on building these bumpers, and we had a bunch of people working on them at once. We also were working on improving shooting. Specifically, into AMPs. Some of the people working on this project were Alex and Timothy, and they were working very hard to get it done!
Finally, we added a fun little twist to our robot. If you are familiar with the FRC hashtag #omgrobot, as will most of the people in MO, then this is hilarious. We put a bright neon sign that says OMG on our robot to pay homage to the hashtag. Overall, today’s room was a lot of fun and we will continue counting down to the competition!
Meet the Mentor Thursday 2/22
Who are you?
- My name is Toni K.
What is another fun fact about you?
- Does it have to be relevant?
Nope
- I have met Ian McKellen (Gandolf).
Why did you choose to mentor Talon Robotics?
- I know how important it is to have adults that will actually be around and I had the opportunity. I have availability and I know what’s important that you guys have somebody.
What is your favorite part of mentoring Talon?
- Watching you guys create and accomplish things that I would never imagine. Could simply be done from start to finish by high schoolers.
Quiz time! What do we have on the bottom of our robot?
- The stop sign?
Yep!
What advice would you give future robotics kids?
- Show up. Just be around, be around and be available to watch and to learn. If you show up, you will be able to find a place in this team.
What advice would you give mentors?
- Also show up, and know the kids, you know. It makes a big difference when you know the kids.
Perfect, thank you so much!
Toni’s impact
Viki, Student Member
Viki, what does Toni do on the team?
Toni is a constant when it comes to being available and keeping the room open. Open room is crucial for us, so that we can continue to work together and finish the robot. Along with that, she’s helping mentor at some of our out of state competitions. We need all the help we can get regarding mentors. After all, it’s managing a bunch of children with power tools. Believe me when I say we need a mentor, for safety reasons.
Paul, Build Captain
Paul, how has Toni helped you on the team?
Toni has a very driven spirit to be in the room. When the schedule is tight she will always be with us thick and thin. She effortlessly makes a safe calm corner for students and members to relax. She is also happy to share her hobbies and experiences. We always appreciate the work she puts in and the acting as a glue to hold us together.
Friday 2/23
🎶Oooooh oh we’re halfway there… 🎶with the bumpers. We made a ton of progress on the frame of the bumpers today. Good job Vonnie and crew! Also, Timothy and Riley mounted intake motor controllers. We also set up the field again for the weekend’s driver practice! Finally, one of our wonderful mentors Mrs. Lisa brought in some Little Caesars for us. Thank you so much to our team’s amazing mentors!
Saturday 2/24
Saturdee! We were mainly working on Bumpers once again! The majority of Saturdee was spent on bumpers, but we did get a chance to work on our robot in the south commons. Saturday was pretty quiet to begin the day, but the team was able to make even more progress on the bumpers. Vonnie especially got the majority of the assembly done on the bumpers and by the end of the weekend, she was able to attach everything except for the fabric. The Impact presenters also met for the beginning of the day. They mainly worked on finalizing their script and started to discuss the actual props they would be using for the presentation. Nice job guys!!!
Sunday 2/25
End of the week, but not the end of the grind. Sunday was spent on continuing bumpers, but also the completion of a four-note auto. Our programmers worked for a span of six hours to make sure our robot would be able to perfectly shoot four notes in 15 seconds. The end of Sunday saw the teardown of the field and a lot of success with our bumpers. Cronus is looking great!
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