By Chris Spangler

The Whitewater Unified School District’s Robotics Booster Club is hosting a STEAM Faire on Saturday, May 18, at the high school.

With the Ferradermis robotics team fresh from world competition in Texas, the club will be showcasing science, technology, engineering, art and math from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This first-ever event is open to people of all ages and is free of charge. Attendees are asked to bring a donation for the Lakeland Animal Shelter, however.

Activities include 3-D printing, fire safety, solar power and drone demonstrations; basil planting; flight simulators; chemistry experiments; acrylic paint pouring; faceprinting; button making; T-shirt decorating; and walking stick carving.

Also on hand will be FIRST Robotics Team #6574, aka Ferradermis (Latin for Iron Skin); Whitewater Axolotls; Lakeland Animal Shelter; Mario Cart and Smash Bros. E-Sports Tournament; and Iron Dragon’s LEGO robots.

Laura Masbruch, Whitewater math and K-12 computer science teacher and Ferradermis’ adviser, said there will be free books and puzzles, raffle baskets, concessions and a bounce house, among other offerings, at the event.

“The Booster Club just formed this winter and they are supporting robotics from the elementary school to the high school districtwide. They are bringing in all sorts of people doing demonstrations and interactive activities,” she said, citing representatives such as those from Gateway Technical College in Kenosha and the Whitewater Fire Department.

“There will be art projects as well, because they are emphasizing the ‘A’ in STEAM,” Masbruch added.

She explained that the Booster Club has applied for its 501c3 nonprofit status, which should open open up more doors for grants needed to financially support the growing robotics teams.

First in FIRST

In 2017, Masbruch was among the founders of Whitewater High School’s FIRST Team #6574, which quickly grew in membership and sponsor support. FIRST — an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — prepares young people for the future through inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 or grades PreK-12.

High school teams must build industrial-size robots that play a field game in alliance with other teams. In addition, they must raise money to compete, design a team brand and promote character and an appreciation for STEM locally.

A Whitewater Middle School robotic team, called the Iron Dragons, will be participating in FIRST Tech Challenge starting this fall.

“They build robots that fit in an 18-inch cube, but it gives them the ability to design and manufacture their own parts,” Masbruch explained.

That is opposed to LEGO League in elementary school, where pupils begin learning programming and related skills. With the addition of Iron Dragons, LEGO League will be serving pupils in grades 4-5 instead of grades 4-8.

The goal is to capture pupils’ interest in STEAM early and then help them hone their skills by participating in FIRST robotics programs throughout their school careers.

In its brief existence, Ferradermis has made a name for itself, statistically ranking in the top 17% of 3,323 teams in the world for the 2023 season.

The most recent success story took place Feb. 28-March 3, when Ferradermis won the Impact Award at the Northern Lights Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Duluth, Minn. It was given to the team best exemplifying FIRST’s mission and serving as a model to others.

Among its many tasks, the Impact Team had to address 13 questions in an executive summary, write an essay, create a three-minute video and seven-minute presentation, answer judges’ questions and provide documentation about the team’s activities from the past three years at most.

Moreover, Ferradermis placed third among 55 teams from five states at the Duluth regional.

That landed by Whitewater team a coveted spot at the FIRST Championships in Houston April 16-20.

More than 600 teams, including nine from Wisconsin, are competing in Houston (visit https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2024/CMPTX for a full list).

Seventy-five teams are playing on each of eight fields named after famous scientists. Ferradermis and 74 teams from 28 states and seven countries —  Israel, Turkey, The Netherlands, Canada and Mexico — are on a field saluting computer science pioneer Grace Hopper.

The FIRST robots’ challenge is to retrieve round “musical notes” on the floor and place them in an “amplifier” or launch them into a “speaker.” The robots can be guided by a student driver or operate via computer program.

The winning three-team alliance from each field then will advanceto the playoffs on Einstein Field to determine the world champion.

In addition, Ferradermis’ Impact Team will compete in Houston for the chance to be inducted into the FIRST Hall of Fame.

Qualifying matches are being live-streamed on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires_hopper. Playoff matches will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Masbruch said that Ferradermis had to undertake major fundraising efforts to support the trip to Texas, but area businesses, organizations and individuals stepped forward to assist.

“This community rallies around their team. They raised $38,000 in eight days for the world (competition),” she noted, citing nearly 75 sponsors. “That’s the generosity of Whitewater.”

To support Ferradermis, donations may be made to https://whitewatercommunityfoundation.networkforgood.com/projects/176555-ferradermis-first-robotics-team-6574. A donate button also appears on the team’s website at https://www.ferradermis.org. 

For more information about Ferradermis or the WUSD robotics program, contact organizers by email: ferradermis@gmail.com, visit the team’s website: www.ferradermis.org or call 262-472-8159.