Stingers of Steel Robotics Team Shows Off Its Stuff

HARRISON – The Harrison High School robotics team had a large presence at the 2022 Harrison Street Fair, spending both days promoting the group’s self-funded efforts to instill interest in the community’s mechanically- and computer-minded youth. The team competes through the FIRST Robotics organization whose acronym is an abbreviation of “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”

The robotics team is partially self-funded, and it has taken on a format of seeking multi-level sponsorships in addition to individual donations. Not that donations aren’t welcome, because they certainly are. Sponsorships, however, can allow for better budgeting and goal setting to get the team where it needs to go. The Stingers of Steel team had its robots onsite at Street Fair, and showed the public some of what the robot and its designers/builders/programmers are able to achieve.

The original FIRST Robotics 6642 robot “Lucille” – which has been through the team’s competitions, including its winning season during the winter/spring semester – was available for $10 test drives by members of the public.

The team’s booth/demonstration area included a display of the team’s prototype for next year, along with another for “ideas and possibilities.” But those are for another day, as work on the new competition season’s robots cannot begin until the first week in January. Thus “Lucille” was still the star of the show at Street Fair, as she buzzed and whirred her swan song for the admiring crowds.

Having had a successful season last year, the team has a goal of competing at the FIRST Robotics Championship Event in Houston, Texas. While some of the robotics team costs are covered by grants and support from the Harrison Community Schools, some of the costs are not eligible for coverage by those funds. This speaks to why fundraising is an essential part of the robotics program, and the high cost of such competitions requires the support of partners both personal or corporate, in amounts both large and small. The projected budget for the 2022-2023 competition is $27,000.

Those wishing to become a partner in this robotics endeavor may send donations by check to: Harrison Community Schools, P.O. Box 529, Harrison, MI 49855 (with memo line indicating “designated for the Robotics team).

Questions may be emailed to hcsrobotics6642@harrisonschool.com or sent via message to its Facebook page at Stingers of Steel.