A Breakaway Birthday Party (Happy birthday Chess!)

This month we hosted the first Breakaway birthday party for one of our biggest fans. After having seen the robot in “Robo Chapel,” the birthday boy, Chess, had asked his mom if he could have his 8th party with Breakaway. A little planning took place, and the event was soon official. Cones were set up in our gym so the kids could try driving the robot. Tables were also set up and teams formed for the kids to face off in Lego sumo bots. The Breakaway members acted as coaches for the teams and helped the teams build their robots.

It was fun working with the kids and brainstorming with them to see what ideas they had. Every once in a while the team mentors would have to explain how something would work or how to attach a certain piece, but because we were using Legos most of the kids didn’t have trouble building. During the time that the party goers were building the sumo bots, one team at a time would be called up for a chance to drive Q-Bert our FRC practice bot. After seeing the performance of these young drivers, I have no doubt that Coach Jones will be able to find a driver when this class comes around. After the teams had a go with the robot they went back to building or driving their Lego robots.

It was so cool to see these guys interacting and driving something that they had built. This might have been the first time that these kids had done anything like this. Soon it was time for the kids to have cake, and the party died down from there. After the party we mentors had some fun driving the robots the kids had built.

Our team enjoyed interacting with Chess and his guests in such a unique way. The ingenuity of a young mind is amazing, and it was an honor to work with these kids. Also the fact that our team made a large enough impact for a little boy to want to have Breakaway host his party lets us know that we are showing these kids what they can do. One of our goals on Breakaway is take part in the future of STEM. By using Legos, snap circuits, and other teaching aids, we have a system in place that makes teaching others STEM easy.

At the end of the day it was time to pack up, and Chess’s dad offers us some left over cookie cake. As ravenous teenagers, we couldn’t refuse. After a good party, good snack, and good day, it was time to say goodbye to Chess. We let him have a few more rounds of sumo bots, and after beating one of our drivers 3 times in a row (there may or may not have been some help) he said goodbye and left in a very happy mood. We packed up and went home thinking the story was over. The next day, however, Chess’s mom told us that instead of opening up all his new gifts and toys, Chess went to his own Legos and started building robots on his own. Our team is so glad that we could make his wish a reality and wish him a happy birthday!

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Judy Hoggard 501-593-1800 cell

Joel Hoggard

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