Outreach

The goal of team 2199 is to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). However, the team also places strong emphasis on forging strong community relations.

To achieve maximum community visibility, the team hosts an annual open house for the community. Each open house features a prominent guest speaker; past speaker have included Dr. Don Thomas, a former astronaut, and a team from the Johns Hopkins Brain Computer Interface and Neuroprosthetics Department. Guests are given tours of the team's workspace and are shown the robots practicing on the playing field.

The Robo-Lions are heavily involved in their school's environment. The team has strong support from the school's faculty and administration. Two of the team's mentors, Mrs. Rose Young and Mr. Alan Demming, are science and technology education teachers at the school, respectively. The team also takes advantage of classrooms as a weekly meeting space and used to build their robot in the technology education workshop until graciously being provided a much larger space.

2199 is well-known throughout their community for their work in two of their school's plays, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Peter Pan. Team members worked with the drama department to create two props, a robotic lamppost and robotic crocodile, for use in the performances. The robotic lamppost made for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe even won a Cappie Award, an award showcasing local theater talent, for Best Prop.

The Robo-Lions also make regular appearances at their local elementary school science fairs. Through their appearances, they hope to inspire young students to enter the local FIRST programs and eventually persue a STEM-focused career.

The team also mentors three FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams. 2199 provides the middle school students with resources and experienced mentors so that they can create the best robots possbile. The Robo-Lions also host the annual Roar of the Robots at Liberty High School, which FLL teams may attend in order to qualify for the Maryland State FLL Tournament, held at UMBC.