The UNI STEM Support Services office hosts an annual Team Social for Iowa Regional participants on THURSDAY night. This year the social will take place in the Applied Engineering Building on the UNI Campus.
Registration for youth participant and chaperons is free but space is limited. Pre-registration is required. March 23 Update – Registration is closed – the event is full!
| Activities | Locations |
| Teams Lounge and Dining Area | John Deere Innovation Corridor |
| Live Music [6:45 – 7:30 pm] Modern Band & Creative Music Making Course | West Entrance *** |
| Camp Fire & Smores [7:30-9:30 pm] UNI Outdoors and STEM Support Services | Outside West Entrance |
| Design Your Own Locker Calendars Applied Engineering Department, Graphic Technology | 1001 |
| UNI Escape Room Cybersecurity Club, Technology Club, & Graphix Club (both rooms contain the same activity) | 1003 and 1011 |
| Laser Names Applied Engineering Department | 1005 |
| Tabletop Gaming Rod Library and the Friendly Meeple | 1029 & Lounges |
| Coding in the Educational Robot Zoo UNI TEACH Lab | 1028 |
| Ramps & Pathways Challenge Regents Center for Early Developmental Education | 1082 |
| Looking for the Quantum State Physics Department | 1079 |
| Foundry Tours UNI Metal Casting Center | Hall between 1071 & 1080 (*) |
| TeleOp Relays Construction Management Department | 1097 |
| Constructing the Real World – Bridges in Action Construction Management Department | 1098 |
| Mentor Only Lounge STEM Support Services | 1050 |
Activities
A variety of UNI Departments and Clubs are hosting activities for the social including:
- Campfire and Smores with UNI Outdoors
- Foundry Tours with Applied Engineering
- Construction in the Real World with Construction Management
- Escape Rooms by the UNI Computer and Technology Clubs
- Tabletop Gaming with the Rod Library and the Friendly Meeple
- Enter the Quantum Realm by UNI Physics Department
- Program and Play in the Educational Robot Zoo by the UNI TEACH Lab
- Make the longest Marble Run with the Regent’s Center
- Design and print our own locket calendar with Applied Engineering
- a box of UNI cookies for your team!
- and more…Remember Fun is a Core Value!
Coaches and Mentors
Your team can eat before coming to the Team Social or have food delivered to the AEB and eat in the John Deere Innovation Corridor. The corridor can comfortably seat approximately 100 people at one time. If you are bringing your own meal – coolers are ok but appliances such as warmers, crock-pots, and instant pots will not be allowed. There is no access to electricity for teams and there is no storage area available in the building (but the parking lot is right next to the building).
The Friendly Meeple will bring a custom selection of table top and card games for teams to try, including games that align with the current year’s FIRST theme and cooperative games. This is often listed as one of the highlights of the event!
Dinner/Food
Dining – Dinner is not provided. Smores and another snack are! The Team Social is like an open house. Your team can eat before or after attending. Or you can bring a sack dinner or have something delivered to the event. If you have food delivered, the address is: 2900 Campus Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 and the pickup location is the reception desk. Please include your team number in your delivery order and be sure to only pick up your order! No kitchen appliances are allowed in the AEB (instant pot, crock pot, hot plate, etc.), no electricity is provided, and space must be shared. Coolers are allowed. John Deere Innovation Corridor, which is the main hallway, will be set for 110 people. Please give priority in this area to those eating their dinner.
Campfire and Smores – Weather permitting, there will be a campfire and smores from 7:30-9:30 outside the west doors and a couple of outdoor games as well. Each team will have smore tickets in their packets. Each ticket is worth 1 smore.
Dress for the weather if you want to sit out at the campfire. There are seats, tables, and even guest wifi should reach this area.
If it is raining, snowing, or too windy, we’ll have cold smores inside!
Activities – I’ll be updating the online list of activities as soon as we are done printing event maps today or tomorrow. Most of the activities are ‘come and go’. You can walk in and leave at any time. A few are scheduled:
- Escape Room – Room 1003 and 1011 will contain identical escape rooms with a max of 8 people at a time. Each of these rooms will post a schedule of start times. It is estimated to take approximately 20 minutes to solve the cybersecurity and physical puzzles and the room is reset before another group is allowed in. We encourage participants from multi-FRC team groups to solve the escape room!
- Foundry Tours – Foundry Volunteers will be taking small groups (4-6 people at once) on short foundry tours. There will be a sign in the hallway between rooms 1071 and 1080 to queue for the tours.
Some activities may limit the number of people in the room at one time without having a formal schedule.
Team Snack Box – A box of UNI Cookies will be waiting at the reservation desk for your team whenever you wish. If any member of your team has dietary restrictions, we have a limited number of MB Davide’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free, lactose, or nut free) for individual pick up, just have them stop at the desk and ask. Pick up your team box on the way in, on the way out, or any time between!
Guest Wifi – UNI offers free guest Wifi. Select “UNI Guest Wifi”, open a browser and provide a name and email, enjoy!
Tag-a-longs
Teams/Chaperons may reserve tickets for younger siblings traveling with their team. Each Tag-a-long’s parent/guardian must complete and provide an event liability waiver and a team adult or guardian must supervise them at all times. Some activities, such as the Foundry Experience, may be limited by age and/or size.
Parking at the Team Social
is Free! Park in the AEB West B Lot (West of the building).
Three teams attending the team social will be selected for a unique foundry experience. They will be awarded a 1-hour time slot for 12 team members to cast and pour a special object designed just for them by our foundry team and serve as the live demonstration for the social participants on the foundry tour. The team winning The Game Game will earn the first slot. The other two slots will be selected at random from teams registered by the early bird deadline.