There will be a Robot Run held in partnership with Tinkerfest next weekend as part of the festivities surrounding the FIRST Robotics Central Arkansas Regional at Harding University.
According to Marka Bennett, one of the three coordinators for Searcy Beats and Eats, which is organizing Tinkerfest, proceeds from the fun run will be used to support CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of White County.
“Every dime will benefit CASA of White County,” said Bennett, who is one of the volunteer advocates. “We do have an office here with a director and coordinators who handle the cases. The volunteers are the ones who actually go and visit with the kids and their families, foster families, etc. It’s just such a wonderful organization. It’s not a ministry, it’s a nonprofit and we really feel like we are an essential part of the system when children are involved in foster care and so forth.”
Last year, Bennett said the Searcy Beats and Eats Committee partnered with CASA, which provided volunteers for all of the Beats and Eats events to help on “the day of.”
She said CASA is “getting lots of sponsors” for the Robot Run, “but we also want people to participate as either a runner or a walker or even a stroller.”
“It’s just over 2 miles throughout the Harding campus, so it’s not a long-distance thing,” Bennett said. “It’s not a true running event, but we would love to have a variety of people who want to participate. Kids can come, adults can come. Obviously, you don’t have to be a regular runner to do this.”
Tickets to participate in the fun run/walk are $10. “For that $10, you will get a really cool shirt with a really cool robot on the front of it, the logo,” Bennett said. “You can’t even buy a t-shirt for $10 anywhere, so we want people to come and get a t-shirt and wear it to advertise CASA and to promote CASA but also to just put more money in their coffers for what they do on a regular basis daily in our county for foster kids.”
The start and finish lines will be in front of the Rhodes-Reaves Field House on Blakeney Street and parking will be available around the stadium and the Ganus Activities Center. To register by Friday at 5 p.m., go to runsignup.com/casaofwhitecounty _robotrun. The run starts at 5:30 p.m.
As with the Tinkerfest activities, the fun run is open to anyone. The science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics event, which the Searcy Advertising and Tourism Promotion Commission is funding with $10,000 in tax revenue, will be held Friday from 5-9 p.m. The money is being used to pay rental fees for the exhibits provided by the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock.
“We have this ongoing passion for promoting STEAM education in Searcy and White County,” said Tim Westbrook, the theme leader for Tinkerfest, “so this is a fun way for kids to be more introduced to it and see some pretty fun applications of what they are getting in school.
“The FIRST Robotics tournament starts Thursday night and lasts through Saturday. It’s kind of like a three-in-one – you got robotics, you got Tinkerfest and then you have the CASA fundraiser, the Robot Run. It will be a great weekend for our community.”
The regional, which received $66,000 in funding from the Searcy A&P Commission, is expected to draw a crowd of 1,000 to 1,500 to Searcy.
“We have teams coming in right now from five different states and Mexico,” Harding Academy robotics coach Brian Jones said when the funding request was made. “… Hopefully, we hit that 80 percent or more [staying] in hotels. This is a multi-night stay, so we’ll have a number of teams, especially our Mexico team, come in on Wednesday night, March 30th. They’ll be able to have dinner, all that kind of stuff as well.”
Bennett said the robotics tournaments are “just fascinating” to watch and she encourages members of the community to attend. Then on Friday, they can go to the Robot Run and Tinkerfest, which will have laser tag games available as well as “two bouncy obstacle courses, one for young children from zero to 6 and then six to 16, I believe, on the bigger course.” Although most of the activities are free, tickets for laser tag will be available at the event.
The Air Force also is “bringing a big 18-wheeler truck that folds out,” Bennett said. “They have all this hands-on experience stuff so that’s going to be really exciting.” Harding University’s Engineering Department will have the Baja four-wheel drive vehicle it constructed for off-road races on display as well and “be there to explain it and what they do.”
There will be a laser cutting exhibit, too, Bennett said, where “people can actually see how it is done.” And there will be eight food trucks available.
The main thing, though, is the Museum of Discovery’s exhibits, she said. “They will be there and it’s all hands-on participation kind of exhibits, and it’s a big exhibit so it will be a lot of fun for families of all ages. They also bring The Awesome Science Show and that will occur twice on our stage during the evening. It is a really fun interactive show done by one of their staff who is very fun to watch and be a part of.
“In between all of that we have a really amazing band with a really fun robotic sound that goes along with our theme.”
The name of the group from Little Rock is Monsterboy Lives and its Facebook page describes the group’s sound as an “alternative rock sound steeped in the blues of the Delta South.”
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