Making It Loud!
In addition to building robots, TALON 540 believes that it is essential to give back to the community. Lead mentor Mr. Hurlburt constantly reminds members that "we are more than the robot." Thus, we strive to live by Woodie Flower's "gracious professionalism" paradigm during both the build and off seasons. To do this, TALON 540 uses a three-pronged approach towards community outreach which involves contributing to the Greater Richmond, the Godwin High School, and FIRST communities.
Webelos & Girl Scouts Engineering Merit Badge
This year, TALON 540 hosted its fifth annual FLL tournament, a Virginia-state Qualifier for 24 youth teams from around the Commonwealth. Every year, the tournament is a huge success in-part by its sheer size, but also the smoothness with which it was operated. TALON hopes to continue hosting and organizing a FLL tournament every year.
Our team visits the Hungary Creek Middle School and hosts workshops every 2 weeks. We teach the BombiniBot curriculum and how to put the robot together, along with the different components of a robot. We also teach basic programming with Scratch-like languages.
Virtual Workshops During COVID-19
In the Community
Annual Student-Run FLL Tournament
Hungary Creek Middle Workshop
During the COVID-19 pandemic, TALON 540 hosted virtual workshops for middle-school-aged kids to teach them programming and CAD skills. 50+ students attended, and we were very happy to spread STEM knowledge to the younger members of our community!
FTC Mentoring at Hermitage High School
This year, TALON 540 mentored the FTC team, Smoky Juniors 3668, provided them programming and technical training curricula, helped them organize and put together a binder. We taught a few rookies how to program robots in JAVA and build a website with HTML/CSS. We also talked about their future goals, how they can achieve them.
Robot Showcase at Science Museum of Virignia
IN THE SCHOOL
Talon 540 has created a T-shirt launching robot that is toured our school to promote our mission, STEM, and FIRST. Our T-shirt robot has attended many school athletic events such as Pep Rallies, Basketball Games, and many more to engage students and garner awareness for FIRST Robotics.
Freshman Curriculum Fair and Open House
In collaboration with Godwin High School’s librarians, TALON 540 has brought STEM-related activities into the school’s weekly Maker Space program. From designing LEGO robots to constructing marble towers, Maker Space manifests an opportunity for all Godwin students to independently explore engineering and robotics in a creative atmosphere.
Maker Space provides a medium through which TALON 540 can introduce themselves to the student body. Through these interactions, many students later go on to join the team. To further develop this program, we plan on donating a 3D printer to the library for all to use.
Godwin Spirit 5K
CodeVA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit built to promote computer science and computer programming all across Virginia. In the fall of previous years, TALON 540 worked with Code Virginia and our sponsor MindSensors to create the Bombinibot workshops - targeted for under-privileged students in the inner-city area.
We traveled to numerous elementary schools and daycare centers, teaching students the basis of programming through the use of a friendly, low cost robot called BumbleBeeBot. Running on a Scratch-like Programming Language, it is very engaging and easy to understand for kids. In the coming years, we hope to reach more schools, eventually expanding this into a nationwide project.
Since 2016, Talon 540 and the Girl Scouts have been working in a concerted effort to promote STEM. We have been hosting robotics workshops for the Girl Scouts, introducing them to the world of STEM and robotics. This year, we built an interactive curriculum to help the Girl Scouts earn their robotics badges in programming, designing, and showcasing robots. We feel this initiative has been especially successful in inspiring young girls to pursue STEM careers.
Every summer, TALON 540 showcases their robot at the Science Museum of Virginia, providing an introduction of FIRST Robotics and its core visions to families.
T-Shirt Shooting Bot
Each year, Mills E. Godwin High School holds a Curriculum night to introduce upcoming freshman to the numerous elective opportunities which are offered. To promote technology education, TALON 540 sets up a table with information about FIRST and the various technology classes offered at Godwin. We make a point of showcasing our robot, which never fails to turn heads as a result of its sheer size and intricacy
Library Maker Space
Past Events
In past years, TALON 540 collaborated with the school track team to organize a Spirit 5K marathon to raise money for the Godwin student fund, which benefits struggling students in our school community. This was a great experience for our robotics team to work alongside fellow classmates to support a noble cause.
Code Virginia Workshops
