The 2021 Minnesota STEM Advocacy Day brought together STEM and FIRST organizations through a Facebook Live event hosted by Senators Jim Carlson (DFL, Eagan) and Melisa Franzen (DFL, Edina).
This year’s remote event coincided with National Robotics Week, so it was fitting that robots from two robotics teams were asked to come to the State Capitol to assist Senator Franzen with dropping a robotics funding bill in the Senate hopper. This bill is requesting reauthorization of funding to assist with the development of the five FIRST Upper Midwest Competitive Robotics hubs established in 2019. The Green Machine’s 2020 robot, Zodiac, was joined by FIRST Tech Challenge team 9972-Iron Gears to make the delivery at a time when the Capitol is closed to the general public. Please take a look at their journey!
Attendees were also treated to a robot demonstration, hosted by FIRST Robotics Competition team 4859-CyBears, Byron, broadcasting directly from their CRH facility. They also showed a ‘drone’s eye view’ of the center, which also houses FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST LEGO League.
Senator Jim Carlson also encouraged support of a robotics program grants bill he recently introduced, which would help school robotics programs expand access by helping with event registrations, materials, coach stipends and operational costs for school robotics programs. “Robotics helps students build 21st century skills, and the legislature needs to support these opportunities,” he said.
This event also featured speakers from SciMath MN, Minnesota State Engineering, FIRST Upper Midwest, and High Tech Kids, which runs the FIRST smaller robot programs in Minnesota.
You can watch the entire event here.
We thank Senators Jim Carlson (DFL, Eagan) and Melisa Franzen (DFL, Edina) for their continuous support of hands-on STEM and FIRST Robotics opportunities for our K-12 students!