C.H.A.O.S. is not only a robotics team; we are also an active part of our community. Our team takes part in many projects that benifit the community ranging from holding robotics demonstrations and competitions to repairing a square-dancing robot! We always enjoy being involved with the community. Everyone at C.H.A.O.S. loves seeing the outcome of what we do in the community.

Freeman the Square Dancing Robot:

Many years ago, a group of people at MIT built a robot for a local square dancing group, and Freeman was born. Back then, Freeman was a heavy robot (Good thing he didn't have to pass an FRC safety inspection) who had to be tethered with a long 120 volt cable to the operator station. Freeman could square dance by driving and turning around the actual square dancers. He was complete with multiple flashing lights and even a swinging arm. He could even blush when dancing around women. To top all of this off, Freeman had a money chute which could give the winners a silver dollar.

However, Freeman needed some repairs, so The New England Square Dancing Association came to C.H.A.O.S. for help. We gratefully accepted and we began to fix him. Upon opening the access door and looking inside, we knew he needed some help. There were many old and damaged electrical parts and many worn out elecrical connections after all of the years of use. Seeing as though freeman is made of wood, we completely revamped his insides.

With the help of our mentors we outfitted Freeman with an IFI control board, a new drive train, new LED lights, and a new swinging arm. we even gave him a new paint coat. After Freeman 2.0 was finished, we were able to demonstrate him to the members of the square dancing society. The members loved the work we had done, and we enjoyed working on it.

Demonstrations:

Every year our team works with other FRC teams to give a robotics demonstration to the studendts at local schools. The kids and teachers both love watching our robots drive around and are amazed at things that they can do (like shooting orbit balls into trailers). Some students from our team had attended these schools and they enjoy seeing all of the kids who are following in their footsteps. We show the middle schoolers different robots incluiding a holonomic vEx robot. This is always a great opportunity for the kids to ask questions of members of the team and to see what being on a FIRST team might be like.

FLL Competitions:

Every year, C.H.A.O.S holds two popular and rewarding local FLL tournaments; one at Hillside Middle School in Manchester, and another competition at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Many CHAOS volunteers also help out at the state tournament. Giving back to the FLL community is important to our team where many of us came from. We also host a JFLL Tournament at the University of New Hampshire. Thank you to Kristen Kelso, who helps organize these FLL tournaments. To find out more information on starting your own FLL tournamnets, go to our resources page. Congratulations to all of the FLL Teams that competed this season.

PICTURES!!

Other Community Involvment:

FIRST Camp Volunteering:
Many C.H.A.O.S members volunteer each summer at various summer camps that take place at FIRST Place in Manchester. These camps are designed to show kids through awesome hands-on interactive activities, guest speakers, and field trips, campers will find out just how cool science and technology can be! To see more information on FIRST camps, click here.

Governor's Press Conference:
In 2009, team C.H.A.O.S. was given the unique opportunity of attending and demonstrating our robot at a press conference held by New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, regarding his hopes for the future and advancement of FIRST in public schools. We were able to demonstrate our robot to all of the notarized government and technological buisness representatives who attended. We also got the chance to talk with Woodie Flowers!

Regional Introduction:
In 2009, our team was given the honor of giving the introduction speech at the opening ceremonies to kickoff the BAE Systems Granite State Regional. We spoke about the importance of keeping in touch with alumni and the lessons FIRST participates take away from a season of working together towards a common goal.