RoboRAVE International
Impact
RoboRAVE International takes advantage of young people’s natural desire to design, make, test, and perfect something of their own. Eighty-five percent of 2012 participants said RoboRAVE increases their interest in science or technology, and 74% say it would help them attend college. Program leaders believe that, with sufficient funds, they could reach 1,000 more students next year.
Accomplished
- Need Accomplished
- Evaluation Developing
- Sustainability Developing
- Replication & Scalability Developing
- Partnerships Accomplished
- Capacity Accomplished
- Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
- STEM Practices Accomplished
- Inspiration Accomplished
- Under-Represented Groups Accomplished
Over the past ten years…I have never encountered a high quality program like RoboRAVE International. … It is this ease and low cost involvement that enable the program to be easily replicated in other states and through organizations such as American Indian Science and Engineering Society.”
Program manager, Research & Evaluation, Intel® Corporation, Corporate Affairs Group
Design Principles
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished (
) across all Design Principles, or be Developing (
) in a maximum of three areas.
Overarching Principles
-
Need Accomplished
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
-
Evaluation Developing
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
-
Sustainability Developing
Ensure work is sustainable.
-
Replication & Scalability Developing
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
-
Partnerships Accomplished
Create high impact partnerships.
-
Capacity Accomplished
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
STEM Principles
-
Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.
-
STEM Practices Accomplished
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
-
Inspiration Accomplished
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
-
Under-Represented Groups Accomplished
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.
Program Overview
RoboRAVE International is a competition for teams of school-aged kids who have designed, built and programmed autonomous robots. R.A.V.E. stands for Robots Are Very Educational. Analyzing speed versus torque, comparing rates in fractions per second, or figuring out the volume needed to deliver 50 ping-pong balls puts physics and math in context. Our challenges focus on problem solving, whether through Line Following, Jousting, Fire Fighting, or “Robotovating” – innovating with robots. Four levels of competition – elementary, middle, high school and Big Kids (anything beyond high school) – means kids can start simple but grow into complex problem-solving as skills develop. We aim to make robotics accessible to ANY student ANYWHERE. We train our teachers and our students at workshops and through our website. We make team costs affordable. And we keep kids coming back by creating a fun event that students describe with words like “awesomeness.” We live our motto: “Today’s Play, Tomorrow’s Pay.”
Funders and Partners
FUNDERS: Intel (our founding sponsor), Century Link, New Mexico Tech University and Los Alamos National Laboratory. IN-KIND PARTNERS: 2012 New Mexico Legislature, SMG, Education First, HP, New Mexico MESA, Lego Education, Center for Hands On Learning, Rio Images, Bueno Foods, Creamland Dairy, and Shamrock