• Offer Profile
  • BadgerBOTS Robotics Corporation is an educational organization whose mission is to inspire young people to be excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Math (STEM).
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  • About FIRST®

  • BadgerBOTS’ National Program, FIRST ® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.
    Based in Manchester, NH, the 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit public charity designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and nearly $15 million in college scholarships, the local and national competitions BadgerBOTS Robotics participate include:
     
    • FIRST LEGO League (FLL)
    • FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)
    • FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC )
    The keystone of the program is the organization’s values, Gracious ProfessionalismTM and CoopertitionTM.
    • FIRST LEGO® League (FLL)

    • BadgerBOTS Robotics FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) is a fun and exciting international robotics program. It ignites enthusiasm for discovery, science, and technology in kids ages 9 to 14. Each year in the Fall FLL teams of 10 kids or less embark on an adventurous challenge based on current, real-world issues. Teams are guided by a team coach and assisted by mentors.
      BadgerBOTS Robotics is our local chapter. Any Dane County school team or individual student is welcome to join. For the 2011 season, we supported 26 local teams from Sun Prairie to Belleville through coaches training, mentor support, LEGO supplies and software, plus much more!
    • FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)

    • FIRST® Tech Challenge is a robotics competition for high school students based on a sports model. Teams of up to 10 students are responsible for designing, building and programming their robots to compete as alliances against other teams.
      Teams advance from local qualifying tournaments to state championship tournaments, before advancing to the World Championship Tournament, held each year in St. Louis, Mo.
    • FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC)

    • BadgerBOTS FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) is a unique techno varsity Sport for the Mind™ program designed to help high-school-aged students learn and discover how interesting and rewarding the lives of engineers and scientists can be.
      The year-round program is about learning, growing, teamwork, real-life challenges and hands-on opportunities, but the 150 pound, industrial-sized robot makes it fun. From a kit of parts with no instructions, the team has six weeks starting in January to build a robot to perform particular tasks on a large playing field against 50 or more teams at competitive tournaments. In the off-season, students mentor FLL teams, tour local technology companies, listen to guest speakers, and work on teamwork and technical and computer skills.
  • Fall 2012

  • BadgerBOTS FLL 2012

  • BadgerBOTS offers the Dane county community an easy entryway to the FIRST Lego League program for students in grades 4-8 (ages 9-14). Any Dane County school team or individual student is welcome to join. Please see BadgerBOTS’ Minor League program for students in grades 2 and 3. We’re excited for this year’s Senior Solutions Challenge and the great season that’s in store.

    We provide :
    • A simple registration system
    • LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 base and resource sets so you won’t need to purchase them
    • In-person support system
    • Coaches and parent training sessions
    • A regularly available work space for your team (Evenings Monday-Thursday, all day Saturday)
    • Custom team shirts
    BadgerBOTS supports teams beginning before the season starts. We host coaches’ trainings over the summer, where you’ll be introduced to building with the NXT LEGO Robotics kit, NXT-G programming, the FIRST LEGO League Core Values, and experience a full walk-through of the season. You’re invited to our kickoff event in the beginning of the school year, where we’ll match kids to teams and pair experienced high school volunteers with parent/coaches who desire or require additional team mentors. We also host the Badgerland Regional FLL Tournament in early November.

    The Benefits of BadgerBOTS

    BadgerBOTS offers teams and coaches support for all three components of FLL: the project, the FLL Core Values, and the robot game.

    Project: FLL features a research project based on each year’s theme. Each year BadgerBOTS hosts experts to speak to teams about their professional experiences and best practices for young researchers.

    Core Values: High school students from our FIRST Robotics Competition team are here to serve as team mentors. They will share their expertise in NXT programming and robot design – they’ll also mentor with dedication to Coopertition and Gracious Professionalism.

    Robot Game: BadgerBOTS provides a great deal of support for new teams. Our education center is open for use as a team practice space, so you can interact with other teams and use our laptops, field sets, and have access to spare parts.

    Nuts and Bolts

    We recommend meeting with your team at least twice a week. The BadgerBOTS Education Centerwill be open for team use from 1-9 PM Monday-Thursday and 8 AM-4 PM Saturday throughout the season. Whether a student can regularly miss parts of meetings and still have an effective team depends on team dynamics—students usually do better if they have friends on the team. Each team needs two active adult mentor/coaches—a single coach coordinating the team meetings is too burdensome for most people. If your child is participating, we expect some parental help—mentor or coach a team, or help out in whatever way works best with your schedule.
    The cost for joining BadgerBOTS is $150 for each team member. Payments can be made to the BadgerBOTS Robotics Corporation by check or electronically through our registration system. Cash or check can be mailed to mailed to the BadgerBOTS Education Center.
    This year’s FLL season kickoffs will be August 30, 2012 for experienced teams and September 8, 2012 for rookie teams. An open parents’ meeting will be on Thursday night, September 6. Tournaments begin the first week of November.
    Additional donations support the participation of a full and diverse cross-section of our community. Please consider donating at the time of your registration. BadgerBOTS is a 501c3, non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

  • BadgerBOTS Minor FLL 2012

  • Minor League is a chance for 2nd and 3rd graders to get their hands on the robot and get familiar with the FIRST Lego League program in a less structured environment. Our goal is for kids to get their hands on the robot and start building and programming, sparking their interest and giving them a chance to start learning basic robotics skills (how to put stuff together, very basic programming). Teams of 3-5 members will partner with an older FLL team to get access to the field set and basic technical support.
    Some features that are new to Minor League are:
     
    • It will have about 4 missions on the board.
    • It features activity nights.
    • Members will be involved in a special awards ceremony
    • Teams compete at normal regional competition
  • BadgerBOTS FTC

  • The FIRST Tech Challenge is a robotics program for students in grades 9-12, though 7th and 8th graders may participate with BadgerBOTS approval. BadgerBOTS organizes Dane County teams and offers support that begins at the kickoff that we’ll host on the afternoon of Saturday, September 8.

    BadgerBOTS provides teams with a robot kit and a work space. The $450 fee, of which only $250 is required to start, covers the kit and national registration, as well as tournament expenses such as the state registration fee, transportation to Milwaukee, one night in a hotel, and meals.
  • Camps 2013

  • Summer 2013
    New this year: Scratch Programming, Advanced NXT, and Girls Only Sessions!
    BadgerBOTS Robotics offers fun, exciting and innovative camps that teach science, engineering and computer skills through the use of LEGO® Mindstorm Robots. Campers find out just how cool science and technology can be while learning new skills in team work, problem solving, and out-of-the-box thinking. All sessions are coed except for S4, which is exclusively for girls. Students are welcome to enroll in more than one camp.
    • Robotics Camps for 2nd and 3rd Graders
    • Robotics Camps for 4th-8th Graders (Including Girls Only and Advanced)
    • Scratch Programming Camps for for 4th-8th Graders
       
    Financial Scholarships Available:
    Every child should have the opportunity to attend our camps and participate in our programs. Reduced or free financial scholarships are available for students receiving free or reduced lunches, please download scholarship forms.

    Refunds and Cancellations:
    For cancellations, all tuition deposits and payments are non-refundable beginning 2 weeks before start of session. If a paid substitution from the waiting list can be made at least two weeks prior to the start of the
    session, you will receive a refund of your tuition less a $25 administration fee. If a paid substitution from the waiting list is made within two weeks of the start of a session you will receive a refund of your tuition less a $50 administration fee.
    Cancellation without a replacement by May 15 is a full refund less a $25 administrative fee. From May 16 to the 31, the penalty is $150 and on or after the 1 of June it increases to $250.
    On or after the Monday two weeks prior to the start of your camp session all fees become non-refundable in full.
    ALL cancellations must be in writing (email is sufficient) with the date of receipt determining the cancellation penalty.

    Military Families:
    If you are a deployed reserves or guard unit member, or have been severely injured while deployed, there is external scholarship support possible through an organization called Our Military Kids. Visit their website for details and application. Already accepted in the camp, apply anyway. If you’re approved we will refund your registration fee.
    • Junior Robotics Camp 2013

    • Junior Camp (1 week per session; 9AM to 12PM)
      In the Junior LEGO Robotics Summer Camp kids going into 2nd and 3rd grade will get the opportunity to build and program an NXT robot. In this one week session all campers will have partner who they will work with to program the robot to do the challenge of the day. This camp will prepare students for the 2013 BadgerBOTS Junior LEGO League Fall competitive robotics season. Cost: $200 per student per session.
    • Summer Robotics Camp 2013

    • LEGO® Robotics Camp (2 weeks per session)
      This beginning robotics camp for 4th-8th graders teaches hands-on computer skills through the use of LEGO® Mindstorms® robots for NXT programs. Student partners are engaged in and learn new skills in programming, problem solving, and much more! Register with a friend or our staff will assign you a camp partner. Cost: $500 per student per session.

      NEW Girls ONLY LEGO® Robotics Camp (2 weeks; 7/1 – 7/12, 1PM-5PM)
      The very same material as our other LEGO Robotics sessions, but this one is open only to girls. Register with a friend or our staff will assign you a camp partner. Cost: $500 per student per session.

      NEW Mastering the Palette: Advanced Programming & Projects (2 weeks; 8/12 – 8/23)
      This session will provide instruction on the complete palette. Students will master wiring, logic, variables, NXT Bluetooth, and other tools relevant to programming and electronics beyond MINDSTORMS. Missions require more creativity as the session progresses. We’ll start out with an NXT telegraph system, then build wirelessly controlled robots, and end with projects chosen by and designed by students. Cost: $500 per student per session.
    • Scratch Camp Summer 2013

    • NEW Summer Scratch Camp (1 week per session, 1PM-5PM)
      Scratch is a programming language developed at the MIT Media Lab to enable kids to be creative with computers. In this camp we’ll make animations and games using Scratch. In addition to programming, students will enjoy puzzles, games, and puzzle-games. Cost: $200 per student per session.
       
  • Get Involved

    • Coach and Mentor

    • Our programs are volunteer driven. Each one depends on the support of our community members to lead, instruct, and inspire.
      As you’ll hear us say often, “It’s about a lot more than a robot.” Success in each program demands great core values and a strong team. Being a great mentor doesn’t require any particular background or expertise. Many of our most valued mentors and coaches are from fields other than science and engineering. Outreach, business planning, and marketing are required for the highest honors in the FIRST Robotics Competition.
      That said, we’re always looking for experts to help kids in our main programs. FIRST LEGO League (grades 4-8) involves a research project and presentation that often requires interaction with experts from agriculture, industry and academia. The high school programs involve programming, design, and multiple engineering fields.
    • Donate

    • The BadgerBOTS Robotics program is a tax-exempt organization that operates under the financial support of its sponsors. Your deductible donation is our primary source of revenue. Your donation supports the high school, LEGO League, summer camp, Tech Club, and teacher training programs. As we seek to build an endowment fund, and cover our annual operating expenses, we can’t thank you enough for your support!
       
    • Become a Sponsor

    • BadgerBOTS Robotics is a tax-exempt not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization that operates under the financial support of program fees and the generous donation of sponsors and individuals. Your donation can be designated to support one team, one program or the entire organization. As we seek to build an endowment fund and cover our annual operating expenses, we thank you for your support!
      Sponsorship can be made at any level. Only through your support can we continue to expand our programs to enhance the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment that we provide to the Dane County community.
       
    • Get Involved

    • Interested in getting involved in BadgerBOTS Robotics, but not sure where to start or what to do?
      There are numerous ways for students and adults to get involved and all with varying levels of time commitment. Previous experience is not required for many of the programs and for those programs that do require experience, BadgerBOTS Robotics provides the training and/or support to make you or your team successful.