TEAM 1403 COUGAR ROBOTICS
PROJECT/ACTIVITY: Culture Class
Date: 12/16/2020
Where: Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Impact on Team: This cougar class’s main focus was on the variety of cultures within the team as well as the overall culture of Team 1403. The presentations started with a fellow robotics team, 4481 Rembrandts, from the Netherlands. They spoke about the many different aspects of their Dutch culture ranging from their climate to the traditional food eaten there. After they concluded their presentation, members of Team 1403 began to share about their culture. Team member, Alice, spoke about her Guatemalan culture and presented compelling artifacts from there. Afterwards, Sami told the team about his Pakistani culture and revealed many unique holidays that are celebrated. Harrison spoke about his Ashkenazi Jewish culture and mentioned many historical references to complement his presentation. Furthermore, Harsh and Megan talked about their South Indian culture, bringing up the traditional delicious food that could be found there, which really made the team’s mouth water. Lastly, Nidhi and Aadya concluded with their North Indian Culture. Both of the girls gave the team an idea of the different movies that were big in their culture. Team mentor, Mike, then switched gears and started discussing the culture of the team itself, and although there were so many differences that separated us, we were all united for our passion in STEM. Also, Mike helped each team member recognize how their culture was a part of their identity, just like how being on Team 1403 is also part of their identity.
Activity: Finally, after the presentation was over, the team played a game on Kahoot, which is a trivia game. Similar to the Kahoot from the first Cougar Class, individual team members competed against each other by answering twenty questions to receive a spot on the podium of the top three players. The “Kahoot” consisted of questions that focused on the many aspects of Team 1403, such as its history, achievements, and interesting facts about team leadership. The Kahoot also had some additional questions that were extra challenging, that asked questions from previous Cougar Classes and the presentation. The Kahoot served as a review of what members knew about Team 1403, and review of the Cougar Classes, and refreshed the team’s knowledge. In general, this cougar class allowed individuals to explore and learn more about their peers’ cultures as well as the culture of Team 1403.