Robo-Lions

Age Group: 9-12th graders throughout Maryland (may include advanced middle schoolers)

Location: Finksburg, MD

Time Frame: Year-round activities include practices, meetings, and public outreach/robotics demonstrations at schools and libraries. Summer is for team learning and volunteering at robotics summer camps. Fall is for robotics training and off-season competition. Winter (January and February) is for building a robot for FIRST® Robotics Competition. Spring (March and April) is for FIRST competitions. 

Cost: Fees vary depending on season; scholarships are available. Registration begins June 1 at Freedom Area Recreation Council’s registration website
(http://www.farc.sportssignup.com). 

Details: FIRST® Robotics Competition Team 2199 Robo-Lions are a community team open to students throughout Maryland. All experience levels are welcome. Robo-Lions twice qualified for and competed at a FIRST Championship world competition. Robo-Lions meet Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. year-round at its workshop at the Carroll County Center of Robotics and Engineering, 2025 Suffolk Rd., Suite 1A, Finksburg, MD, and visitors are welcome. Visitors are encouraged to notify Robo-Lions of their visit by sending a message to Robo-Lions’ Facebook page. For more information, contact Rose Young, director at PIE3 and lead mentor at Robo-Lions, at rmyoung.pie3@gmail.com. FIRST Scholarship Opportunities are available. 

Learn More: https://robo-lions.org/

Sparks 4-H Robotics

Age Group: Elementary through high school students

Location: Westminster, MD (Carroll County Ag Center)

Time Frame: Ongoing

Cost: $40 registration fee per child; scholarships available

Details: Sparks 4-H Robotics is a Carroll County 4-H Club, and includes Vex competition team Super Sonic Sparks (s3).  The 60-person club includes 5 teams competing in various age groups. 

Learn More: https://s3robotics.org

Gear Freaks

Age Group: 7-12th graders throughout Maryland

Location: Finksburg, MD

Time Frame: The Gear Freaks operate year-round. September to February is considered the build season when the team is dedicated to designing, prototyping, building, and programming a competition robot for the official FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) game. March to August is the off-season and is used for training/learning new skills and techniques. Gear Freaks’ main goal is to expose its team members to as many robotics concepts as possible such as designing, building/prototyping, programming, public relations, etc. The team also provides robotics demonstrations to local schools and libraries.

Cost: The team has a yearly fee of $200.00 that is collected during the last week of August. This fee is subject to change depending on estimated yearly operating costs. Scholarships are available. Registration begins June 1 at Freedom Area Recreation Council’s registration website (http://www.farc.sportssignup.com).

Details: FTC Team 4991 Gear Freaks is a community-based team open to students throughout Maryland. All experience levels are welcome. The Gear Freaks meet Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. year-round at its workshop at the Carroll County Center of Robotics and Engineering, 2025 Suffolk Rd., Suite 1A, Finksburg, MD, and visitors are welcome. Visitors are encouraged to notify Gear Freaks of their visit by sending a message to ftc4991@gmail.com. For more information, contact Joe Walton, Gear Freaks lead mentor/coach, at ftc4991@gmail.com.

Learn More: www.gear-freaks.org

Springdale Preparatory School

Girls Who Code

Age Group: grades 5-12

Location: Springdale Preparatory School | New Windsor, MD

Time Frame: school year, club meets on Tuesdays

Cost: Free

Details: Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks likes and does.  We are looking for volunteer mentors and accepting student participants!

Learn More: www.girlswhocode.com

Aerospace Club

Age Group: grades 5-12

Location: Springdale Preparatory School | New Windsor, MD

Time Frame: school year, club meets on Thursdays

Cost: Free

Details: Have fun while learning about physics, aviation, space, and more!  We are looking for volunteer mentors and accepting student participants!

Competitive Robotics

Age Group: grades 5-12

Location: Springdale Preparatory School | New Windsor, MD

Time Frame: meets after school August-February

Cost: Free

Details: Learn about robotics and engineering while competing in regional and national VEX events!  We are looking for volunteer mentors and accepting student participants!

Learn More: springdaleps.org