Community Programs
LEGO Mindstorms Library Program
Renaissance Robotics has partnered with the St. Thomas Public Library to offer an "Introduction to Lego Robotics" program. It was developed by our own Outreach students and has been going on for over three years. These three hour workshops have been designed for students ages 7 - 12, and have been filled to capacity each time.
Students have been introduced to the construction and programming of these robots in an atmosphere of teamwork, problem-solving, cooperation and creativity. It was amazing to see the kids absolutely fascinated with the technology! Parents were especially impressed with how engaged their children were and the sincere enthusiasm that team 4525 Outreach students have for STEAM! You're never too young or too old to get excited about science, technology, engineering, art or math! The library staff were so impressed with the success of the program that they invited our Outreach team to come to their Professional Development Day and teach library staff how to build and program Lego robots. Students teaching adults - amazing!
If you would like to register for a course at the library or request more information, please call the Public Library at 519-631-6050. If you are interested in trying out some of our Level 1 & Level 2 Library LEGO program activities visit our online Resource Library!
Hour of Code
Hour of Code is an event that runs every year across the world to get people interested in coding. As the name says, it takes only one hour and shows how learning to program is something everyone can learn to do!
Each December, during Computer Science Week, Renaissance Robotics makes it a goal to get as many people as possible to participate possible by hosting the event at our School and Public Libraries. We use Hour of Code activities as drop-in programs at the library & for inclusivity-in-tech events at our school year round. Click here to check out the custom robotics Hour of Code activities!
FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Junior
Renaissance Robotics founded our first FLL team in 2015 and two more in 2016, plus an FLL Jr. team in our small community. This year we founded 5 more FLL teams: one in our town, one outside in another rural community and three on another continent in Hyderabad, India! Overall our team has founded and continued to fully mentors nine teams.
Meet GC - our team's 13' all cardboard robot sculpture! He was originally created as part of a marketing campaign for our Google Cardboard Virtual Realty App, and after attending many FRC Events & travelling all the wya to World Championships, he made his way into the entry feature of the FLL Jr. Ontario Showcase! He has since been donated to the director of FLL Canada and will be reappearing in 2017 at the FLL Ontario Champs!
For the duration of the FLL season, members from 4525 mentor elementary students and their teachers through their building, programming and presentations. We share our specialities, design skills, helping each team develop an identity with a brand so they become real teammates!
Our open community FLL Jr. team meets every week with us, working on core values such as developing ideas, group communication skills, and individuals contributing to a team while still working together. We feel such reward in taking them to the Ontario Provincial Showcase Event!
PD Day Camps
During PD Days for elementary school students, members of our team went to the London Children's Museum and set up STEAM activities for young children to explore.
The theme for one of our activity package was "Superheros" and included robots demonstrating their "Super Powers" including agility, speed & mimicry! We taught parents and students in 2 Spanish, Korean and English using LEGO Mindstorms, Hex bugs, Ozobots and graphic design. It is a popular day for children of all ages.
