2023-2024 Outreach

Outreach Events 2023 - 2024

The Alabama Astrobotics Team participates in many outreach events each cycle. Events range from on campus demonstrations to elementary school visits, with the aim to inspire students to be involved and interested in STEM activities and careers. We are always looking for new outreach opportunities!

DBHS Virtual Activities

During the month of February, Alabama Astrobotics hosted two virtual activities for students of Dobyns-Bennett High School. First, we taught students how to use the engineering modeling software SolidWorks by guiding them through the process of drafting a wheel for a lunar rover (Pictured on left). Second, we taught students about challenges associated with autonomous navigation through a game about guiding a lunar rover to a mining zone (Pictured on the right). More information about this activity can be found at the bottom of this page.

VEX IQ Robotics Competitions

This year, Alabama Astrobotics members refereed and judged four VEX IQ Robotics competitions across the state. Our volunteers traveled to Walker Elementary, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, and North Jefferson Middle School. The competitors completed remote-controlled and autonomous runs. Our members were responsible for scoring each team's runs.

FIRST LEGO League

In late January, the team traveled to Hampton Cove Middle School for FIRST LEGO League's Alabama State competition. Our volunteers acted as judges and referees. They were responsible for grading student's presentations, scoring their competition runs, and keeping the event running smooth.

Worlds of Work

Alabama Astrobotics provided an active display showcasing space robotics and potential careers at Shelton State Community College located right here in Tuscaloosa, AL for Worlds of Work (WoW). WoW is a career expo that brings numerous industry leaders and education partners together to showcase opportunities and careers to schools in the area.

Hillcrest High School

Several Alabama Astrobotics members spoke to students at Hillcrest High School about the LUNABOTICS competition, NASA's current efforts with Artemis, our team operations, and careers in engineering and similar fields.

Walker Elementary

Two Alabama Astrobotics members spoke to the 3rd and 4th grade at Walker Elementary about what we do as a team, NASA's Artemis mission and how we fit in to that picture, and how a championship-winning robots operate.

BEST Robotics Team

A homeschool BEST Robotics team came to our lab for a tour. While they were here, they learned about NASA's Artemis mission, our operations, and our robots. They also played the same path-planning game that we ran with DBHS. Finally, they got to play in front of a LiDAR camera to get an idea of how robots are able to analyze their surroundings.

Rise School of Tuscaloosa

A few Astrobotics members visited the Rise School to introduce preschoolers to lunar robotics. The students got to hold a sample of our limestone dust regolith simulant and various old robot components. Additionally, we ran NASA's Build Your Own Spacecraft activity, designing rocket ships with the students.

Cub Scouts

A local Cub Scout Troop visited the Astrobotics lab for a tour. During their tour, they learned about the basics of NASA's Artemis Mission and our robots. After the tour, they played our Lunar Rover Navigation Simulator game.

STEM Showcase

Alabama Astrobotics set up an exhibit of our robot at this years STEM Showcase. STEM Showcase is a on campus science fair for Middle School age children to work with UA professors on a research project and is a great event for the promotion of STEM research and careers.

Space Days

The University of Alabama Space Days is an annual College of Engineering event that brings together industry leaders and UA student groups. Alabama Astrobotics presented a robot demo to several aerospace industry leaders and discussed the 2024 LUNABOTICS competition.

Get on Board Day

Get on Board Day is a bi-annual event for UA student groups to recruit new members. Astrobotics showcases our organization to thousands of diverse students who attend UA and are looking for ways to get involved in college.

Alabama Astrobotics Lab Tours

Every year, Alabama Astrobotics welcomes visitors from across the country to visit our lab on the University's campus. We ask each visitor to place a blue sticker on the map to mark their hometown. Each red sticker on the map marks our team members' hometowns.

Lunar Rover Navigation Simulation

We ran this activity with a programming class at DBHS and the BEST Robotics team that visited our lab. Both groups loved the game, so we have decided share the resources we created for it! One great thing about this activity is that it can be ran in-person or virtually through Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.

The activity is designed to have students behave like a path-planning algorithm. Each team (or “function”) receives limited information and uses it to make a new package for the next team or rover. Students are split into three teams: Mapping, Pathing, and Coding. Each team is isolated, only able to communicate between each other through packages they create using the information given to them by the previous team. By the end of the activity, students will hopefully identify the challenges of the activity and will be able to connect them to the challenges of autonomous navigation. We have included copies of the Game Rules, Map Grid, and Notes for Instructors.

We have themed this activity around NASA's VIPER rover. The VIPER rover will be sent to the lunar South Pole to search the Moon for ice and other resources. The information gathered by VIPER will help NASA plan future Artemis missions. VIPER is slated to launch in late 2024. For more information, visit NASA's official page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viper/