Eagle Ridge Middle School Robotics Club
Where students learn to think like engineers!
Alert: The club is filled for the year 2023-24. We are sorry that we are unable to accommodate your request this year.
Club Overview
This is an after school club for Eagle Ridge students to explore their interests in STEM. Through this robotics club, students learn to build a robot by applying the engineering design principles, and learn problem solving techniques by working together as a team. Robots are built using hardware (aluminum, wood, polycarbonate etc), powered by Android technology, and can be coded using a variety of levels of Java-based programming. Club members receive guidance from mentors who are high school students from Academies of Loudoun (AOL), Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) and various other high schools in Loudoun County. A selected group of club members form a travel team to participate in FIRST Tech Challenge robotic competitions.
FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics
The club follows the FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics program format. Every year FTC announces a robotics game as the challenge for the students. Students design and build a robot that adheres to the game rules. The season starts from September and runs until February. More details about FTC can be read from the following links
How can I request to join the club?
Alert: The club is filled for the year 2023-24. We are sorry that we are unable to accommodate your request this year.
The club registration for the year 2023-24 opened on August 26th 8am. Please click the link below to register.
Register for the ERMS Robotics Club
The club is run by parent volunteers with support from school PTA and staff. There is a limited capacity and the club usually gets filled in the first week of school. All student registrations received after the club is filled will be added to the waitlist and notified accordingly. There will be a kick-off ceremony on September 23rd, 2023, Saturday from 10:30am to 12:00pm starting with a presentation about the club, the new season game and Q&A. The kick-off will be hosted at ERMS cafeteria. All registered students and parents, both confirmed and waitlisted are required to participate in the kick-off event. Registered students will receive communication about the kick-off closer to the event.
What is the club meeting schedule?
The club usually meets on Tuesdays evening 6:15 to 7:30pm. Only registered students can participate in the club. There is no busing for the students. A parent is required to be present with the child during the club meeting. Parents also take turns to volunteer at the student tables to ensure that students are using the tools and hardware in a safe manner and provide guidance to the students to help them stay focused on tasks. Parent involvement is critical to the success of the program, so this is not a program where parents can drop-off and pick-up their children.
What will students learn from the club?
Students will have opportunities to learn different skills including ideation, strategizing, engineering design, and programming. They work in a group environment collaborating and brainstorming with other students in the club. While students receive guidance from coaches & mentors, this is a platform for students to develop independent learning abilities through a diverse community of peers. Many students form long lasting relationship with their peers through the club.
Is there a fee?
There will be a fee of $100 collected to cover the costs of running the club. This fee includes the student t-shirt, annual registration fee, game sets, tournament fee, engineering notebook etc. The main robot and all the electronic components are sponsored by RoboLords.
Club Resources
Year 2022-23
PowerPlay