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ROBOT SPACE EXPLORERS
PLANNING Robot events can range
in size and complexity from an after-school club involving one teacher
and a few pupils, to a large festival involving dozens of organisations
and hundreds of participants. Detailed guidelines on organising
science clubs can be found on the Salter's
Chemistry website (though written for chemistry clubs, many of
the guidelines are equally applicable to robotics clubs). Planning should be started
well in advance of the event(s). The timing of the activities (evening,
weekend, half-term vacation, etc.) must be chosen to suit the intended
participants. School club activities are best held during lunch breaks
or immediately after school. Regional schools competitions should be scheduled
during school hours (but not in exam periods), allowing adequate travel
time from and to the most distant schools involved. Family robot events
are best held on Saturdays, Bank holidays or (less ideally) weekdays during
half-term vacations. If a succession of events is being planned, then
detailed consideration should be given not only to the launch event, but
also to maintaining enthusiasm and momentum in the subsequent events. The timing of the event
may be strongly influenced by the availability of the intended venue.
A large venue such as a sports centre or town hall may need to be booked
several months in advance. Tables, chairs, computers, etc. may also
need to be booked well before the event. Consideration also needs to be
given to fund-raising, publicity, booking, insurance, parking, signposting,
toilets, catering, certificates/prizes, supervision/policing, health
and safety, and evaluation. A rule of thumb is that
planning should start as many weeks in advance of the event as there
are people involved in organising and running it. For larger events,
an organising committee should be formed, including a chairman, secretary
and (if required) treasurer. The secretary should compile and distribute
a list of contact details (addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail
addresses) for all the committee members, to facilitate communication. Another
member of the committee should have responsibility for health and safety issues.
The committee should meet at least twice at the intended venue, to plan
the allocation of the available space and check details like parking, signposting,
toilets, catering facilities, emergency exits, first aid kits, potential
safety hazards, and availability of chairs, tables, partitions, notice/display
boards, power sockets, public address system, telephones, Internet connections,
etc.
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