About BRC

Berthoud Robotics Club Scholarships

In 2013 a Berthoud Robotics scholarship fund was set up in memory of Dan Schlagel.  The scholarship fund provides assistance to students who would like to participate in Robotics but are not able to  afford the yearly club fee.  To date, Berthoud Robotics has not turned away any student for financial reasons.  The club replenishes the scholarship fund through corporate donations.  Any student in need can discuss your current situation with the team coach or with president@berthoudrobotics.org.  Scholarships are used more frequently than  might be expected so do not hesitate to ask.

Berthoud Robotics 501c(3) Status

Berthoud Robotics has had 501c(3) tax exempt status with the IRS since 2013 (EIN:  26-4828813).  The club can receive donations and can be set up for instance, to receive at no cost to the donor such as the King Soopers Community Rewards and we can also receive matching donations from any employer.  Please considering linking your account to Berthoud Robotics.  Typically this involves going to the website of your merchant or employer and searching for our EIN or "Berthoud Robotics" and configuring your account to direct donations to Berthoud Robotics.

Other Robotics Programs in the Area

• Thompson School District has robotics programs for younger students using an internal Lego Robotics competition setup.  This has no cost to the students and a team is typically run by the parents.  Please inquire at your local school.  The program is targeted to 4th and 5th grade students.  It involves building and programming Lego beam/peg style robots to accomplish specific challenges.

• Thompson School District has a First Robotics program (Team 1977, PowerSquids) for HS aged students in the district hosted at Loveland High School.  This program has a single large team that builds very large robots that compete on a basketball court sided field.  Teams work in the fall to gain skills on programming and construction.  The competition is announced early in January with a 6-week build period.  The team would go to one or maybe two tournaments in March/April (often times hosed at DU - Denver).  Best results for students are those that start in 9th grade and keep with the program for four years.

• Team 1619 - Up a Creek Robotics in Longmont runs multiple programs for a variety of ages including First Robotics for HS aged students.  Please see their website if Longmont is more convenient.

• While Berthoud Robotics is not "part" of the Thompson School District, we work closely with the Berthoud, Loveland and surrounding schools to help them with robotics, for instance, helping parents find "robotics programs in Berthoud/Loveland" for their student.  We work most closely with students at Berthoud Elementary, Ivy Stockwell Elementary, Turner Middle School and Berthoud High School.  We have had students in our program from Erie, Longmont, Windsor, Loveland and any of the surrounding areas. Even if you don't end up being part of Berthoud Robotics, we want your student to get connected to a robotics program that will work for them and for the parents.  Contact us if you have any questions about robotics.

3D Printing

A gracious Berthoud resident donated a 3D printer to Berthoud Robotics so that we can enhance our member opportunities.  The equipment BRC has is very similar to the printers at BHS and TMS so students may be aware on how to construct models and print objects.

The printer can be used in the following ways for any BRC member that has the required training to use it.  Email the president@berthoudrobotics.org if you would like to receive training.

Priority projects

FREE:                 Prototype objects for BRC Vex Online Challenge Submissions

FREE:                 BRC VexVRC or VexIQ related objects (printing temporary replacement robot parts or field elements)

$0.25 / 10g:    BRC team projects or fundraising objects (BRC supplied filament)

$0.50 / 10g:    BHS projects where the printer at BHS is not available (user supplies printer compatible filament)

$0.75 / 10g:    BHS projects where the printer at BHS is not available (BRC supplied filament)

On a time available basis (discretion of the BRC board as to use and priority calls)

$1.00 / 10g:    Any BRC member personal printing where BRC supplies an available filament

$0.50 / 10g:    Any BRC member personal printing where member supplies the printer compatible filament

$2.00 / 10g:    Non-members printing where BRC supplies an available filament

$1.00 / 10g:    Non-members printing where printer compatible filament is provided

Object models must be disclosed to the supervising BRC board member before starting and any objects may be rejected at the sole discretion of the supervising board member and there is no recourse .  Objects with significant (overnight) run time will be given significant scrutiny.  If you have such a model you may want to contact BRC to see if we can print it at our convenience.  Note that the Loveland Library has the same printers available for library card holders (which anyone can get) at similar costs and has an E-sized printer for large engineering and artistic endeavors.  The Loveland Creator Space has additional programs and equipment including woodworking, laser cutters and a metal shop.

If you would like to use the device, please contact president@berthoudrobotics.org to have your request considered.  We are currently allowing only ABS and PLA and single-extruder compatible objects.  BRC does not have heads compatible with flexible, carbon-fiber or conductive filaments.