Chesterfield County Public Library’s LibraryBots team, a group of middle and high school students interested in robotics and STEM projects, will be competing in the FTC (First Tech Challenge) 2013-2014 Central Virginia Qualifier Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013 at St Christopher’s Upper School, Bolling Field House. The winning team in this robotics challenge earns a chance to compete at the FTC State Championship in March. This will be the first challenge for the LibraryBots.
The LibraryBots organized formally this past fall under the leadership of Bruce Davies. Davies is a long-time mentor, learning-lab advocate and creator of the RVA Hackers. Davies was seeking a space in Chesterfield County to mentor young people in STEM, maker space and robotics activities. At the same time, CCPL was actively seeking to implement a maker space in one of its branch libraries. Maker spaces, robotics activities, and STEM programs provide young people a chance to hone their mathematics, science, engineering and science skills in creative ways while fostering healthy competition, collaboration and respect for team members. Partnering with Mr. Davies dovetailed with the library’s central mission, “to transform information into useable knowledge.” With a small grant from Virginia First for STEM equipment, a dedicated room at Central Library, and the help of parent volunteers and librarians, the LibraryBots were born. The learning lab is open to interested teens on Wednesdays and numerous Saturdays. It truly is an exciting atmosphere, and the number of participants is growing steadily. CCPL is the first and only library system in Virginia to sponsor and support a robotics team. The LibraryBots’ initial project is the creation of a gaming robot.
