Demos

New York State Fair

Every year, Rolling Thunder takes part in the New York State Fair, where we run robot demos in 2 different locations, reaching over 260,000 people. We talk to a lot of people who will hopefully walk away with an interest in STEAM education and FIRST® Robotics!

 

Team members at their booth at the New York State Fair with youth tossing balls to the robot

 

Rochester Maker Faire and Empire State Maker Faire

One of our favorite demos of the year, Rolling Thunder loves taking its robots to the Maker Faire in Rochester, NY.  Not only do we get to demo, but we enjoy seeing engineers, artists, scientists and other crafters show what they can do. In 2020, This year, we were the only FRC team to participate in a FIRST Teams Panel live streaming presentation in the online-only Empire State Maker Faire.

 

 

Red Wings Baseball

Rolling Thunder also participates in a demonstration every summer with several other teams at a Minor League baseball game. This is a great opportunity for these teams to show the general public in Rochester what FIRST can offer the students in their community.

Photo of 4 robotics teams with their robots in from on Frontier Field Stadium in Rochester, NY

 

Girls in STEM Fair at RIT

Local girls who have a passion for science get to take part in hands-on workshops at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Girls in STEM Fair. Girls in the 5th grade through high school get to see demonstrations from women in engineering and computer science jobs.

 

Town of Penfield’s Independence Day Parade

Each year, we participate in our hometown’s Independence Day patriotic-themed parade.  We put our older robots on a trailer and decorate them in red, white and blue while students drive our newer robots on the streets of our town to interact with the parade watchers.

Team members dressed in red shirts and camo pants holding a Team 1511 banner in front of a parade float with robots on it

 

FIRST EXPO Night

1511 participates in a FIRST EXPO Night held at our local middle school so that parents and students from the Penfield District can see all levels of FIRST, and see the robots that the FIRST students create.

2 youth trying to catch a ball tossed by robot at Bay Trail Middle School FIRST EXPO Night

 

L3Harris Bring Your Child to Work Day

It’s always an honor to demo for our main sponsor, L3Harris, at their Bring Your Child to Work Day!

3 children standing behind laptops looking at a team robot

 

New York State School Boards Association’s 100th Annual Convention & Education Expo

In the fall of 2019, we were able to demo for nearly 2,500 school board members, superintendents and educators from throughout New York State at the New York State School Boards Association’s 100th Annual Convention & Education Expo. The event featured more than 100 educational sessions, workshops and speakers, including Robert J. Duffy, CEO of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and former New York State Lieutenant Governor.

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And many more…

We love sharing our passion for FIRST and STEAM as often as we can. Other recent demos have included: Comic Con, Penfield STEAM Fair, Indian Landing Carnival, Cobbles Ice Cream Social, Spencerport Robopalooza, Girl Scout Brownie Troop, Penfield High School Homecoming, Cobbles Science Night, St. John Fisher College Science Exploration Day, FIRST Night at Bill Gray’s, Lifetime Financial Demo.  Here are some photos of our team at previous demos:

Members of FRC Team 1511 and FTC Team 6996 posing with their robots at Lifetime Financial Demo
Team members with their robot demoing ourside of Advanced Auto Parts Store
Student with mentors talking to Brownie Girl Scouts about robotics
Team members posing around their robot at Cobbles Elementary Ice cream Social
Crowd standing in parking lot with teams demoing robots at FIRST Night at Bill Grays
Team members posing with 2 robots at Comic Con
2 students with a robot shooting balls into the air while students site at tables watching at St. John Fisher College Science Exploration Day
Little boy watching a robot shoot balls in parking lot at FIRST Night at Bill Grays
Members of FRC Team 1511 posing in front of booths at New York State Fair
Kids picking up balls tossed by robot in New York State Fair Pavillion
Team member sitting on floor with youth spectators building robots at New York State Fair
2 students talk to spectators at New York State Fair
3 team members posing with robot sitting on a cardboard throne at Comic Con
Team members in uniform at Advanced Auto Parts Demo
Student talking to spectators at NY State Fair
Lifetime Financial Demo
Advanced Auto Parts Demo (4)
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Cobbles Ice Cream Social
Spencerport (1)
FIRST Night at Bill Grays (2)
Comic Con (2)
St. John Fisher Science Exploration Day c
State Fair Demo
New York State Fair (3)
Comic Con (1)
Advanced Auto Parts Demo (3)
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