The Mighty Bees build VEX IQ robots and compete in the REC Foundation's Engage league against schools across South Florida. Students design the robot, write the code that drives it, and run it in competition.
This year the team moved up from LEGO to VEX IQ. Leftover grant money covered getting us started. Everything past that is what we raise and what we earn, and the biggest thing on the list is a second robot so every student has a real job instead of a turn.
$0raised of $1,680$1,680 to go
Tournament entry fees are separate. Those are collected per event from the families whose students are competing, and we'll ask as each one comes up.
Scored the way our game scores. Higher tier, harder to reach.
Where every dollar goes
The tower above mirrors this season's game, where scoring higher is worth more. This list is the order we'll actually spend the money, starting with the robot. Tournament entry fees aren't in here, because those are collected per event from the families whose students are competing.
What we make Opening soon
Everything here is designed and produced by students on our 3D printers and laser cutter, made to order. We're still getting the printers dialled in, so the shop isn't open yet. Here's what's coming.
Name keychain
Your name, your colors. Pick from eight filament colors.
$8
Articulated dragon
Printed in one piece and it still wiggles. Six inches long.
$15
Desk nameplate
Laser-engraved acrylic on a printed stand. For teachers and offices.
$18
Engraved coaster set
Four wooden coasters, your design or ours.
$22
Custom award
For clubs and teams. Engraved acrylic, printed base, your text.
from $25
Holiday ornament
Seasonal designs. Order by the first week of December.
$6
Want to be told when it opens?Email us and we'll let you know. We also take custom jobs, so if you need something that isn't on this list, tell us and we'll quote it. Designing to a real brief is the most useful thing these students do all year.
Build log
What we tried, what broke, and what we changed. We meet Wednesdays and Fridays, and one of us writes up the week.
Ms. Jessica
Two students who are both completely new to this worked out two different problems in the same meeting, sitting next to each other.
The first one couldn't get the one meter challenge to land. He found rotation numbers for the LEGO wheels online and they weren't getting him close. So he stopped using rotations. He timed how long the robot took to cross a meter and programmed it to drive for that many seconds instead. It worked. Timing drifts as a battery drains so we won't use it on the competition robot, but it got him there.
The other one's robot kept curving instead of driving straight. His two motors were starting one after the other in the same stack, so one had a head start. He added a second "when program starts" block and ran each motor from its own, and it went straight.
We're keeping the name Mighty Bees and we'll ask for last year's team number if nobody has taken it. A few people want to put together a segment for the morning show.
Ms. Jessica
The 3D printers are leaving thin strings of plastic across everything they print. We think something changed in the software over the summer rather than the machines being broken, but we haven't proved it.
We want to enter the online challenge where you design a game in CAD. It's something the whole team can work on and it doesn't need the robot. We can't sign up for it until the team itself is registered, and we're hoping to get that done Monday.
Spent the rest of the time on team roles, the website, and ideas for raising money.
Ms. Jessica
New challenge. Build an arm that picks a tennis ball up off the floor and holds it above the hub.
Almost every first attempt stalled. The arms were long and the motors couldn't turn them with the ball out at the end. One group shortened theirs. Another geared it down and kept the length.
I'm staying hands off on purpose right now. They're coming up with their own ideas and working through the problems themselves, which is what the engineering is.
Ms. Jessica
First real challenge. Build something that drives exactly one meter and stops. Not close to a meter. Measured with a tape measure on the floor.
Nobody got it on the first try. Most were off by 10 or 15 centimeters. The students who did FIRST LEGO League last year knew to go look up the wheel size first. The newer ones started by guessing and adjusting.
Ms. Jessica
We opened the bins and told everyone to build something that moves. No challenge, no rules.
Some of the group did FIRST LEGO League last year and went straight to work. A couple have never touched any of this. By five there were several things driving around on the floor.
Support the team
Donations and orders go through the team account, managed by our coach. Every dollar is spent on the list above.
Use the payment link for anything you can pay right now. Email us for custom orders, business sponsorships, or to ask what we still need.