Southington's CyberNights robotics team presents New England Impact Award to board, demos robot
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Summary
Student members of Team 195, the CyberNights, told the Southington Board of Education they won the New England District Impact Award (from about 200 teams), described extensive STEAM outreach and training, and demonstrated their robot at the May 8 meeting.
The Southington Board of Education on May 8 hosted members of Team 195, the CyberNights, who presented their New England District Impact Award and demonstrated their competition robot for the board and attendees.
The student presenters said the award was chosen from roughly 200 district teams and reflected years of outreach. "For 28 years, the CyberNights have turned STEAM into a force that transcends classrooms, communities, and even continents," a student presenter said, outlining the team's multi-year strategy. Presenters reported more than 20,000 student hours, over 3,000 outreach hours annually, a current roster of 43 students and 21 mentors, and $43,000 raised through sponsorship drives this year.
They described programs the team supports, including mentorship for 21 FLL teams and three FTC teams, the "Nightline" live chat service that fields technical questions from teams worldwide, Girls Who Code sessions, a Girl Scout STEAM Camp, and a Waterworks curriculum launched in 2022. "We currently provide mentorship and resources to 21 FLL teams and 3 FTC teams," a presenter said, noting that outreach has reached students as far as India and Israel.
Board members and attendees applauded the presentation. One board member thanked the team for representing Southington and praised the volunteers who support the program. Superintendent Medansky noted the district's appreciation and later thanked the Southington Robotics and Technology Education Association for a separate $5,000 gift to buy VEX robots for elementary schools.
The students also demonstrated their robot, nicknamed "NyQuil," explaining technical features including a four-swerve-module drive base, a two-stage cascading elevator, ground intake for low-level scoring, and an automated climbing mechanism. The presenters said they were semifinalists at the world championships this year and had recently won local district events.
The board recessed briefly to allow the team to show the robot in the meeting space and discussed follow-up logistics so community members could donate or coordinate support. The presentation concluded with the board expressing appreciation and encouraging continued community backing of the school's robotics and STEAM programs.
The board's routine agenda then continued with reports and business items.
