Hot San Jose Nights 2019

Event Summary

On September 7th, Team 254 appeared at the 11th Annual Hot San Jose Nights at the Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, CA to demonstrate our 2019 season robot, Backlash. We talked about our 2019 season, what we do as a robotics team, and how others can get involved in robotics. To entertain some of the kids that came to see our robot, we even played catch with game pieces using our robot. Many of our team members were also able to speak with other parents about the FIRST Program and how their children could get involved. This event allowed us to share our knowledge and experiences with the surrounding community.

Team 254 President, Jack Gnibus, and Members, Marcus Ma and Emiliano Hansen, show Backlash to the surrounding crowd.

Our Experiences

Outreach leader, Safwaan Khan said, “Hot San Jose Nights was an amazing and exciting first event to attend as Outreach Director. Not only did I get to talk about robots, something I love to do, but I also got to interact with both children and adults. I got to show and explain the functions of the robot to children, and I got to explain the processes in which we construct our robot to adults. Overall, the event was a great way to meet and play with others in our community.” Our team allowed visitors to touch our robot and look at it up close, while also answering any of their questions about our robot. In general, people were astonished to see the speed of our robot and how tall it could expand, and several people asked how they could get involved with what FIRST has to offer. Overall, Hot San Jose Nights was an outstanding outreach event and we wish to continue making an impact in our community!

A crowd of onlookers observe Backlash in action!

Team 254 Member, Robert Ganino, talks about what it’s like to be on the team with an interested visitor.