The photo above is the most famous photo spot in St. Louis. Taken at night during our horse-drawn carriage tour of the downtown area, the 'Old Courthouse' (made famous for the trial of the Dred Scott case) is framed by the Jefferson Expansion Memorial (more commonly referred to as 'The Arch').
Below is a review of the Championship week with photos of team activities and local attractions:
Team 70 made a gallant effort to qualify in the quarterfinals of the Galileo Division, being selected by Alliance team captain 2337, the EngiNERDS, from Grand Blanc, MI, alongside team 548, Robotstangs from Northville, MI. Their Alliance was unfortunately defeated by a narrow margin of just ten points.
Team 70 awaits their station assignments in the queue line during the quarterfinals.
Team 494 performed well in the Newton Division, advancing to the semi-finals with their alliance partners, Team 78 - Air Strike, from Aquidneck, New York and Team 1538 - The Holy Cows from sunny San Diego, California. After a difficult battle, they were unfortunately eliminated.
One of our students from Team 494 dressed in prom attire for the semi-finals on Saturday, displaying her dedication to the team in missing the Junior Prom for this years' Championship event. Her banner stated "I am missing my Junior Prom" and her wrist was adorned with a floral coursage.
Team 494 patiently waits in the queue line for their next match of the semi-finals.
Many of our students added "bling" to their safety glasses this year to spice up the look and promote safety in both the pits and on the playing field. Who says safety can't be 'trendy'!!
Teams also promote safety in their pits with signs and posters that advocate the use of safety glasses - this keeps safe working environments constantly on the minds of students and visitors alike.
The Lego Robotics live RC Chess game was a hit with spectators as well as team members. Each of the peices was built with Lego and servo motors and moved by radio contols. A very creative approach to robotics and much fun to try out at the event!
Many vendor booths displayed their wares and gave away nifty gadgets or devices promoting their involvement in FIRST as sponsors and supporters of FIRST Robotics. Trying to fly with the Boeing Flight Simulator 6000 machine was a hit with both students and the general public, demonstrating the type of training our military and commercial pilots can utilize to improve their skills.
The Championship event provided a wide variety of cultural learnings from 29 countries around the world. The students in this photo are from a Muslim FLL Team from the Arab Emirates.
Team Australia (Thunder Down Under 3132) passed out little Koala bears wearing team numbered vests - a hot item for trade and a clever marketing tool!
The 'Pink Team' 233 from Cocoa Beach Florida gave out little pink flamingo birds to all pit visitors. They also had an awesome 3 tube hang in the autonomous mode during practice matches - an awesome robot design!
FLL Team 14500 from Central Israel celebrates a jubilant jump in the air after winning the FLL Gracious Professionalism Award.
The Championship event combined each of the four segments within the FIRST organization, consisting of not only the high school FIRST Robotics (FRC), but also the high school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), middle school FIRST Lego League (FLL), and elementary Jr. FIRST Lego (JFLL) World Championships.
There was also an appearance by the Collegiate Aerial Challenge where college students designed, built and flew their flying robotic hovercraft, demonstrating landing zone accuracy and target acheivements.
Both the CIA and the US Air Force manned a booth at the Championship event and displayed all types of special appliances and devices with robotic applications, including a six legged spybot used by the U.S. Military and local law enforcement agencies.
The CIA actively recruits college graduates who are former active FIRST participants.
The city of St. Louis has a rich and interesting history.
Despite the rain and severe flooding on the Mississippi, many teams arrived a day or two early to visit the local attractions.
Built in 1894, Historic Union Station once served as many as 100,000 people passing through its doors to all parts of the nation every day until its peak in the mid 1940's.
The once Grand Hall where passengers waited for their trains to depart, is now the lobby of the Marriott Hotel.
The outer terminals and track areas are now a series of renovated shops and restaurants alongside waterscapes and bridges with very ornate landscaping.
Perhaps one of the most recognizable monuments in America, the St. Louis Arch yeilds the most breathtaking views of the city for FIRST team members and visitors. An unparalleled feat of engineering, this 'Catenary Curve' structure is completely self-supporting and took nearly 3 years to construct.The Arch sways a maximum of 18" in a 150 mph wind and on the day our teams visited, a 40 mph wind meant that visitors could feel the movement of 5 inches in either direction - a slightly unsettling feeling! This photo of the Arch is taken from the base of the North Tram Entrance.
There is a free museum underground at the base of the Arch.
Tours to the top of the Arch are offered via two separate tram systems, one at each base. Eight small pods transport 5 visitors each, 630 feet up to the observation deck at the apex of the curve and provide a view on a clear day of up to 30 miles in any direction. Photo at right is the short stairwell at the top of the arch giving a short ride of 4 minutes to the top and 2.5 minute return to the ground.
View looking North - Busch Stadium and several high-rise hotels.
View looking straight down the South Tram leg - flooding of the Helicopter pad is shown on the Mississippi River 8 feet above flood stage with continued rising the week of the Championship.
This view on the observation deck shows the curve of the floor at the apex of the Arch.
From the top of the arch, a 35X zoom view of the Edward Jones Dome where the Championship Event was held. The St. Louis Rams NFL team make this stadium their home during the football season.
Again, from the observation deck of the Arch, a full view of the same facility with no zoom. The roof of the America's Center convention facility (our Pit locations) can also be seen adjacent to the dome on the right.
The state of Missouri has a rich system of over 6,000 caves, which many have been designated State Parks. A short drive outside of St. Louis is the Merimec Caverns, reputed as the hideout of train robbing brothers, Frank and Jesse James. Personal effects and strongboxes were found in the cave many years after the unsolved robberies of 1874.
On Friday night of the Championship, Will I AM and the Black Eyed Peas performed a private concert for us in the Edward Jones Dome with an awesome stage set up alongside the FIRST competition fields.
Will I Am ascending the stage in his robot costume - a real hit with the FIRST Teams!
You may click on any of the photos in this blog to see an enlarged view.
FIRST teams surround the stage area during the concert and get a worm's eye view of the performers!
There are few 'lull' times during Championship week, but at those rare moments, one can find many ways to occupy that time.
From a good book in a pseudo-quiet corner of the pit, to answering scouting questions from fellow teams and greeting visitors and button-seekers, there is always something to pass the time.
Of course there is always time for the many team mascots to wander through the pits advertising their teams and handing out buttons.
Here an FRC team member from the EngiNERDS greets an FLL team from Switzerland as he wanders through the pits in his spare time. Avid FIRST button collectors eventually run out of room to display them and get creative on how to wear all of them - vests, gloves, and hats.
Our horse and carriage driver on Saturday night - sitting in front of our hotel and across from the America's Center.
A night time carriage tour of the downtown square from Market Street to Broadway gives a unique perspective to a city rich with culture and history.
For teams arriving early, many pre-Championship conferences are offered on such subjects as advances in the use of robotics in the defense industry, team website design, advanced programming for FRC robots, marketing your FIRST team, STEM discussion panels, and a seminar in Robotics in Medicine hosted by a Michigan rookie team 3537 Team VIRUS.
The STEM discussion panel featured women executives from Boeing, Monsanto, AT&T and the St. Louis Science Center to encourage girls who are FIRST team members to choose careers in science or technology.
This display is from an all girl high school team in the FIRST Tech Challenge Division.
Here, one of our Team 70 students entertains us with card games and creative shuffling.
At one of the many vendor display booths, two of our Lady Martians try out the NASA astronaut gloves. Surprisingly, these gloves that the astronauts wear in space, offer fair dextertity considering the application, but building with Lego peices proved quite the challenge!
Dialing the phone number on these shirts connects the caller directly to the team department at the Madison High School Devil Duckies Robotics Team in San Diego, California! Any team willing to wear such labels better live up to the mantra and this team certainly did.
Team 70 discusses minbot deployment and robot hang strategy with their EngiNERD alliance partners, between quarterfinal matchplay.
Another Team 70 member sports the trademark yellow antennae from a former alliance partner team 'The Killer Bees' (Team 33).
Drive Team for 494 waiting with their robot for their semi-final matches.
Members of the "Blue Cheese" drive team (Team 1086) from Glen Allen, Virginia smile for the camera before a qualification match.
Someone really loves the first 15 seconds of a match - the mode where no team member can touch any control and the robot must travel by pre-programming alone!
Using his robot end effector, a mentor from Toronto FRC Team 610 demonstrates what you feel like after 4 days of intense competition and awesome fun!
Shortly following the FIRST afterparties on Saturday night, in front of our hotel a student from Team 1503 (Niagra Falls, Ontario), began playing his bagpipes for the crowd.
A short video of the music and the crowd just before he was asked by hotel management to stop playing. The video can also be found at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEdwygsro5g
He was so good that spectators began to throw 5 dollar bills into his pipe case! (until the hotel management came out and asked him to move to the courtyard down the street due to complaints from sleeping guests!) A very nice end to a great evening!
Our Lady Martians can really cut a rug when the music heats up - the closing ceremonies were no different! Check out the video at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-IvenhU85c
What would a Championship Closing Ceremony be without a greeting from FIRST Founder and CEO, Dean Kamen.
Alongside his niece, Libby Kamen - a tireless advocate for the FIRST organization and key board member.
A celebratory confetti blast across the Dome after all the awards and entertainment concluded.
Note: To view previous blog entries, click on the " older posts" link on the bottom right of this entry or scroll to bottom of this page to select the archive month/date of your choice.
