Community
The Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering seeks to engage with the current and future community of engineers every chance we can.
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Music City BEST
BEST, Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology, is a national 6-week robotics competition held each fall, designed to help interest high school students in possible engineering careers.
BEST has hubs across the country. Any school may start a team, and there is no cost to participate. There are approximately 9,000 students, 600+ teams, with 28 hubs, and 3 regionals.
Each team is given a kit of parts which they use to construct a robot. This kit includes parts such as wood and PVC, along with the RC components necessary to control the robot. However, not every item on the parts list is supplied by BEST. The final robot must fit in a 2 foot cube at the beginning of each round of competition; once a round has started, the robot can expand to be bigger than this size with retractable arms, etc. The robot must also weigh under 24 pounds.
The game task is different each year, but historically the robot has often needed an arm with different grabbing abilities. One year the game centered on team work to try and get students to work together. The winning teams from local competition sites, or hubs, advance to regional championship sites after the local competition has ended
The hubs rely on local financial support from businesses and universities. Anyone can start a new hub serving a minimum of eight teams.
MUSICCITYBEST.ORG
For more information on the BEST program, please contact Janice Cato.
BisonBot Robotic Summer Camp
For every kid who just can’t resist dismantling the toaster, the Lipscomb University/Nissan BisonBot Robotic Summer Camps will be the highlight of their summer. All camps will be held in the Fields Engineering Center on the Lipscomb campus.
Register
Designed for very young campers with no robotics experience.
This three-day camp introduces campers age 6-8 (completed kindergarten) to introductory concepts in mechanics, electricity, and robotics through hands-on activities. The camp is designed to show campers the connections between basic science and the modern world of automation and to develop an awareness of the underlying engineering principles used in robotics. Camp culminates in a show-and-tell session for family and friends parents where campers discuss what they've learned and demonstrate activities they've been involved with.
WeeBots Camp Dates: June 10-12, 2020 Cost: $200 (snacks included) Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
We offer both morning and afternoon sessions designed for students' first exposure to a robotics experience.
This four-day camp introduces campers age 8-11 (completed 2nd grade) to basic mechanics, electricity, and robotics concepts through a variety of in-class and studio-based exercises. With an emphasis on hands-on learning, a variety of activities are used to introduce the children to concepts such as electrons and current flow, simple DC circuits, motors, axles, and wheels, and the application of these concepts to robotics. The week culminates in a show-and-tell session for friends and parents where campers explain what they've learned throughout the week and demonstrate various projects they've created.
Junior BisonBots Camp Dates: June 8-11, 2020 Cost: $300 (snacks included) Time: 12:30-4:30 p.m.
Designed for budding roboteers with little or no experience in robotics.
Campers age 10-14 (completed 4th grade) learn basic robotic principles involving electrical circuits, batteries, switches, DC motors, and robotic arm- and hand actuators. They build their own challenging six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, and even learn how to solder! Fundamentals camp concludes with a robotic competition and reception open to family and friends.
Fundamentals BisonBot Robotic Camp Dates: June 1-5, 2020 Cost: $400 (snacks & lunch included) Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Designed for students with some previous robot experience.
This camp is for students age 12 and above (completed 6th grade) with some robot experience (previous attendance in a robotics camp, participation on a robotics team, etc.) and will extend their knowledge in mechanical and electrical principles, wireless communication, and will provide them with opportunities to learn and apply various robot design and construction techniques. Advanced camp concludes with a reception and head-to-head robot competition involving robots of the camper’s own design and construction. The reception and competition is open to family and friends.
Advanced BisonBot Robotic Camp Dates: June 15-19, 2020 Cost: $500 (snacks & lunch included) Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Engineering Ambassadors
Engineering Ambassadors are current students selected to host you while visiting the Fields Engineering Center.
Our Engineering Ambassadors volunteer their time and expertise to help recruit and welcome new students, employers, and guests from the community.
Applications to become an Engineering Ambassador for the 2018-19 academic year are now open.
With questions, please contact Megan Davis, Director of Professional Development, at x 5039 or medavis2@lipscomb.edu.
