NMHS Robotics FRC Idaho Regional
Donation protected
Yá'át'ééh (Hello in Navajo)
We are the Robotics Team of Navajo Mountain and we need your help. After attending the First Robotics Steamwork competition in Salt Lake City we have been invited to attend the regional competition in Boise Idaho. Although we have boundless enthusiasm, we have limited funding, and that is where you come in...
Who we are
We are the first Robotics Team to come from Navajo Mountain, Utah and also the first from the Navajo Nation. The majority of team members (students) on the team have no access to running water, and some have to travel a long distance to come here to the high school.
From where we came
The school:
* 32 students enrolled
* Student Population is 100% Navajo
* Located on the Navajo Reservation
*One of the most remote schools in the continental United States.
*Low socioeconomic community with 100% of students qualifying for free lunch program and other government assistance programs.
The Navajo Mountain High School Staff:
* 5 teachers
* 1 librarian
* 1 assistant teacher
The Community:
We come from a low Socioeconomic community where the majority of the residents having no access to running water (residents often having to haul water great distances for themselves and their livestock), and roughly 50% of the households have no electrical power. This is a community steeped in tradition, whose members and their ancestors have dwelled in the shadow of Navajo Mountain (Naatsis’ aan or "Head of the Earth" in our native tongue) for centuries. We are a very remote village, having to travel long distances to acquired even the most basic of necessities (food & gas).
Where will the money go?
Your money will help us to travel to Boise, Idaho. During the competition in Salt Lake City, we were invited by another team to come to the regionals in Idaho. We would like to travel to Idaho to spread our story to other teams there as we did in Salt Lake City, and to inspire other rookie teams that anything is possible as long as you have motivation, determination and are willing to give it you all. Additionally, during our travels we will visit University of Utah, where we will be given tours of both the Colleges of Medicine and Engineering .
What this means to us
This entire wondrous experience is all about defying all expectations. When we first began our journey we first needed to defy and exceed expectations within ourselves.
Also during the construction of the robot for the competition, we were confronted with many different challenges, some of the adversity we faced included:
* Due to a snow storm we did not receive the robotics kit until one week after kickoff. This cost us a full week of build time.
* Our robot was built from scraps, since we lacked materials or a budget to buy materials.
* The nearest hardware store with building supplies is over 170 miles away preventing us from easily obtaining parts and forcing us to fabricate everything ourselves.
* The team and the mentor didn’t have any experience building a robot and had to learn during the build through trial and error (mostly error!).
* We lacked robust tools and had to build the robot using a cheap ratchet kit, saws and a welder.
* The team and the mentor had no experience in wiring electrical equipment or programming having to learn through trial and error.
Nonetheless we overcame these challenges to complete the construction and to be ready for the competition. Although we didn't win, we exceeded all expectations and won the coveted Rookie Inspiration award.
Long Term Goal:
Our long term goal is to take First's mission to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by continuing the program at Navajo Mountain and to start a robotics program at the community k-8 school. Our longer term goal is to use STEAM (you can't forget the importance of art in science) based programs to revolutionize education at both schools in our community and to start programs at other native American schools in an effort to bridge the achievement gap.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj6L-9OOmRQ&spfreload=5
Thanks
We will greatly appreciate the donation to this team to allow us to travel to Idaho. We hope to influence other schools on the Navajo Nation to get into STEAM like events or programs.
We are the Robotics Team of Navajo Mountain and we need your help. After attending the First Robotics Steamwork competition in Salt Lake City we have been invited to attend the regional competition in Boise Idaho. Although we have boundless enthusiasm, we have limited funding, and that is where you come in...
Who we are
We are the first Robotics Team to come from Navajo Mountain, Utah and also the first from the Navajo Nation. The majority of team members (students) on the team have no access to running water, and some have to travel a long distance to come here to the high school.
From where we came
The school:
* 32 students enrolled
* Student Population is 100% Navajo
* Located on the Navajo Reservation
*One of the most remote schools in the continental United States.
*Low socioeconomic community with 100% of students qualifying for free lunch program and other government assistance programs.
The Navajo Mountain High School Staff:
* 5 teachers
* 1 librarian
* 1 assistant teacher
The Community:
We come from a low Socioeconomic community where the majority of the residents having no access to running water (residents often having to haul water great distances for themselves and their livestock), and roughly 50% of the households have no electrical power. This is a community steeped in tradition, whose members and their ancestors have dwelled in the shadow of Navajo Mountain (Naatsis’ aan or "Head of the Earth" in our native tongue) for centuries. We are a very remote village, having to travel long distances to acquired even the most basic of necessities (food & gas).
Where will the money go?
Your money will help us to travel to Boise, Idaho. During the competition in Salt Lake City, we were invited by another team to come to the regionals in Idaho. We would like to travel to Idaho to spread our story to other teams there as we did in Salt Lake City, and to inspire other rookie teams that anything is possible as long as you have motivation, determination and are willing to give it you all. Additionally, during our travels we will visit University of Utah, where we will be given tours of both the Colleges of Medicine and Engineering .
What this means to us
This entire wondrous experience is all about defying all expectations. When we first began our journey we first needed to defy and exceed expectations within ourselves.
Also during the construction of the robot for the competition, we were confronted with many different challenges, some of the adversity we faced included:
* Due to a snow storm we did not receive the robotics kit until one week after kickoff. This cost us a full week of build time.
* Our robot was built from scraps, since we lacked materials or a budget to buy materials.
* The nearest hardware store with building supplies is over 170 miles away preventing us from easily obtaining parts and forcing us to fabricate everything ourselves.
* The team and the mentor didn’t have any experience building a robot and had to learn during the build through trial and error (mostly error!).
* We lacked robust tools and had to build the robot using a cheap ratchet kit, saws and a welder.
* The team and the mentor had no experience in wiring electrical equipment or programming having to learn through trial and error.
Nonetheless we overcame these challenges to complete the construction and to be ready for the competition. Although we didn't win, we exceeded all expectations and won the coveted Rookie Inspiration award.
Long Term Goal:
Our long term goal is to take First's mission to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by continuing the program at Navajo Mountain and to start a robotics program at the community k-8 school. Our longer term goal is to use STEAM (you can't forget the importance of art in science) based programs to revolutionize education at both schools in our community and to start programs at other native American schools in an effort to bridge the achievement gap.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj6L-9OOmRQ&spfreload=5
Thanks
We will greatly appreciate the donation to this team to allow us to travel to Idaho. We hope to influence other schools on the Navajo Nation to get into STEAM like events or programs.
Organiser
Daniel R Conrad
Organiser
Tonalea, AZ
