Our Goal

Teen Tech Camp

We started our first Teen Tech Camp (TTC) in 2005 at the Benjamin Hooks Library in Memphis, we now have this in five locations and has crossed the state border. This is a week-long camp where kids ranging 12-16 learn anything from creating a computer game, cell phone apps, build amazing robots, designing technology that would be printed in 3D printers, and many more things. During our time doing TTC almost 1,000 boys and girls from our communities have been benefited and participated. Additional camps not directly associated to SIM have been sponsored as they follow SIM Memphis example. Our kids are priority #1.

Robotics

Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis Lego Robotics

A Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot costs $350.  A set of batteries costs $10.  The excitement on a young boy’s or girl’s face as they see the BOT move for the first time under the commands of the program they built, PRICE-LESS!  Working with BGCM – The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis, SIM has funded two clubs to start a Lego Robotics program.   It started in January of 2015 at the Bernal Smith Club on Ross Road and the Ira Samelson Club near Grahamwood School.  Student ages range from as young as nine years old and up to fifteen years old.  They learn to make the robot move forward, backward, turn, follow a line, recognize colors and follow a programmed path to achieve a goal.  And they do all of this without writing a single line of code.  It is all done by connecting various objects together and setting their parameters.  Our hope is that we can get young students to develop an interest in technology careers by seeing how much fun they can be and be discussing how rewarding they can be.

First Lego League Regional

We are one of the significant sponsors of the First Lego League Regional Competition run by the University Of Memphis where over sixty teams compete each year during the month of January. If you would like to know more, visit the Memphis First Web site for details on their goals and progress: Memphis First Teams Here the Lego Bots race to complete as many missions as they can in 2.5 minutes, missions are entirely autonomous and the bots come in a wide variety of creative designs. As part of the competition, each group has to make a presentation about the design to the judges which will give a score to their presentation skills.

Memphis Business Academy

Since 2017 we engaged in yet another fantastic opportunity at the Memphis Business Academy (MBA). At the MBA, the VEX Robotics program is being used to build a variety of robots and drones; and due to the annual low cost of the program we are able to reach about 160 students a year. These drones are not built from kits, but are designed using CAD and then printed in 3D-Printers then assembled by the students. Students compete in internal and external competitions.

White Station High School

We started investing in the White Station High School back in 2014, the school participates in the First Robotics Competition (FRC), to build their robots, students have to use real industrial components, they have to Design, Build and Program their models in a time frame of 6 weeks. When we started 4 years ago WSHS had everything piled into 5 tote boxes. Year by Year they have added to their furniture and equipment, now have 2 big rolling cabinets and numerous well organized drawers and trays along with table drills and saws This program impacts about 30 students each a year, participating in two three-day long regional competitions, in 2018 the team advanced to the World Championship which was hosted in Houston, TX.

Other Communities Outreach Involvement