Robotics Expansion Event Opportunities

On-Campus Opportunities 

UNL Showcase Tours

Robotics in Art and Entertainment

Come check out Emerging Media Arts in the Carson Center! Get a brief look at the work our faculty and students are doing that incorporates robotics, AI training, and the entertainment industry.

UNL Engineering Ambassadors: Rocket Propulsion

Students will learn about the impact and basic engineering design of rockets and will have the opportunity to design and fly their own straw rockets using our plastic straw launchers.

Changing the World in the Raikes School

The Raikes School weaves computer science and business education into a single thread of innovation, educating top tier students in a unique process designed to transform them into innovators who can and will change the world. You'll hear from current student-led startups who are solving business problems utilizing technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. During this activity, you'll get to see the Kaufmann Center, home of the Raikes School, while developing your own innovative pitch to solve a unique problem.

Intro to eSports

Students participating in this tour will learn about all aspects of eSports as an industry and the many opportunities for participation in colleges and careers. This innovative course is founded on the concept promoted by John Dewey about experiential learning. Students will be immersed in experiences where they will develop skills used in the eSports industry and apply them for real world authentic purposes. 

Industry Partners

Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. USA and Southeast Community College, Industrial Robot Demonstration

SCC will provide a functional industrial robot for demonstration. The robot will be manipulating objects above a fixed table. Students will have an opportunity to interact with the robot. They will use the teach pendant to move it around. Students will use the robot to solve a logical/programming challenge.

KMM will have 2 laptops running 3D CAD software. KMM will have solid models of LEGO bricks ready for students to copy into a virtual design. Students can get a quick introduction into using 3D CAD.

SCC and/or KMM will provide the opportunity to experience offline robot programming software. This station will display the program that is running on the robot. This demonstrates how robots are programmed offline, in a virtual environment.

In addition, KMM and SCC will have some promotional videos running on loop. The videos will showcase our facilities and opportunities that exist for STEM education and STEM careers in manufacturing.

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance of the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: 30 minutes

NUCOR: Mini Electric Arc Furance

Learn how NUCOR recycles scrap steel by melting it in an Electric Arc Furnace! Students will place steel wool in a glass jar, and by using two probes attached to a battery, they will get to watch the steel glow.

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance of the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: 15 minutes

Huffman Engineering Inc.: Graphite Circuit

Students learn about electricity by using a graphite pencil to draw an image that connects to a battery and light to complete the circuit.

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance of the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: walk-up experience, no sign-up necessary

Rensenhouse: Robots and VR

Learn how to teach a non-programmable robot and learn how to utilize VR for on-the-job training/programming.

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance of the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: walk-up experience, no sign-up necessary

LI-COR Environmental: We Help Researchers Answer Questions

Individual hands-on use of high-end professional sensor equipment to test a hyposthesis in 3 experiments related to monitoring the Carbon Cycle: "Oops, I Burped!", "How Open Are Those Pores?" and "Breaking Wend".

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance of the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: walk-up experience, no sign-up necessary

Department of Stats: Input-Output

Youth will use their powers of deductive reasoning to solve the Input-Output machine. Given an introductory pair of inputs and outputs, the youth will attempt to solve the function which relates the inputs and outputs.

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance to the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: 30 minutes

Nebraska Innovation Studio: Robot Arms & Robot Dogs

Activity 1: Robot Arms. Students will program a robotic arm to do pick-and-place operations.

Activity 2: Robot Dog. Demo of robot dog's motion.

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance to the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: 15 minutes

CASNR and Nebraska 4-H: LEGO Car Building Challenge

You will be challenged to build a LEGO car that can carry a small ball down a ramp with limited LEGO parts. You will have less than 20 minutes to build your car and test your prototype!

Building Location: Cook Pavilion (Entrance to the City Campus Recreation Center)

Length of Activity: 20 minutes

College Parent 101 Session

College Parent 101 Session (30 minutes)
While your students are off touring campus and exploring fields of study at Nebraska, please join us for tips and resources to help you and your family successfully navigate planning for the college experience. Learn how Nebraska will help your student succeed in and out of the classroom, apply for scholarships and financial aid, and stay on track for move-in day. 

  • Date: Friday, March 15
  • Times: 1:00 p.m. CT, 2:00 p.m. CT, 3:00 p.m. CT
  • Location: Swanson Auditorium, Nebraska Union

FIRST Tech Challenge

FIRST Tech Challenge 

Are you aging out of FIRST LEGO League Challenge and want to see what coudl be next in your passion for robotics? Come check out the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) demonstration in the Cook Pavilion! Meet current team members, ask questions, and check out their robots!

FTC Teams (up to 15 team members, grade 7-12) are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Guided by adult coaches and mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles, while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and working as a team. The robot kit is reusable from year to year and can be coded using a variety of levels of Java-based programming.

For questions about this program or the information on this page, please contact: