Team TARDIS 5356

05/27/2026

We are so happy to announce that three local companies and an anonymous donor have brought Empire State Unified Robotics closer to its goal of growing and sustaining Unified Robotics in upstate New York in the coming years!

Manufacturing Automation Systems and Upsilon Robotics have each committed to sponsoring a team, and Hilliard is underwriting an entire school district, as are our incredible anonymous donors — for a grand total of $5,000 committed in the past five days! We’re now 25% of the way to our $20,000 goal, due by June 25.

If you can make a contribution — any amount can help! — please do so right away. You can donate online at our secure portal: http://tinyurl.com/ESUR26 or by mailing a check made out to “The Hack Foundation” (our fiscal sponsor) and with “Empire State Unified Robotics” in the memo line; mail to: ESUR, c/o Mike Simons, 3955 Pine Hill Road, Corning NY 14830

The need and deadline are urgent - June 25 - we thank you for your support as we aim to grow Unified Robotics, ensuring that students of ALL abilities have access to STEM education and competitive robotics!

05/23/2026

Empire State Unified Robotics and 5356 Team TARDIS need your urgent help!

The LEGO Group has announced they are discontinuing SPIKE Prime, the build system used in our competitive robotics program for students with disabilities.

We are halfway through a two-year pilot, working with $7,500 we received from a grant we wrote, but our long-term plans to expand Unified Robotics across upstate New York are in danger of failing if we cannot secure more LEGO robotics kits to use with new teams.

Please - we need your help! Each kit costs $430, and supporting a new school district’s worth of four teams (with 16-20 students) requires $2,000 for LEGO and other resources.

Our funding deadline is June 25, and our goal is to support 10 upstate school districts — we need to secure $20,000 from local companies and individual donors. Empire State Unified Robotics is a 501(c)3 organization, so donations are tax deductible.

Team TARDIS started Unified Robotics last fall to create opportunities for classmates of ours with intellectual and physical disabilities. In Unified Robotics, they can participate in competitive robotics and develop STEM skills to help with career readiness. With your help, we can expand those opportunities across upstate New York — please give generously, if you are able. Thank you!

You can donate online at our secure portal: http://tinyurl.com/ESUR26 or by mailing a check made out to “The Hack Foundation” (our fiscal sponsor) and with “Empire State Unified Robotics” in the memo line; mail to: ESUR, c/o Mike Simons, 3955 Pine Hill Road, Corning NY 14830

The need and deadline are urgent - June 25 - we thank you for your support!

05/22/2026

Empire State Unified Robotics and 5356 Team TARDIS need your urgent help!

The LEGO Group has announced they are discontinuing SPIKE Prime, the build system used in our competitive robotics program for students with disabilities.

We are halfway through a two-year pilot, working with $7,500 we received from a grant we wrote, but our long-term plans to expand Unified Robotics across upstate New York are in danger of failing if we cannot secure more LEGO robotics kits to use with new teams.

Please - we need your help! Each kit costs $430, and supporting a new school district’s worth of four teams (with 16-20 students) requires $2,000 for LEGO and other resources.

Our funding deadline is June 25, and our goal is to support 10 upstate school districts — we need to secure $20,000 from local companies and individual donors. Empire State Unified Robotics is a 501(c)3 organization, so donations are tax deductible.

Team TARDIS started Unified Robotics last fall to create opportunities for classmates of ours with intellectual and physical disabilities. In Unified Robotics, they can participate in competitive robotics and develop STEM skills to help with career readiness. With your help, we can expand those opportunities across upstate New York — please give generously, if you are able. Thank you!

You can donate online at our secure portal:
http://tinyurl.com/ESUR26
or by mailing a check made out to “The Hack Foundation” (our fiscal sponsor) and with “Empire State Unified Robotics” in the memo line; mail to: ESUR, c/o Mike Simons, 3955 Pine Hill Road, Corning NY 14830

The need and deadline are urgent - June 25 - we thank you for your support!

04/24/2026

Time is running out!

If you’d like “FLEX” to be part of your home, office, or robotics club, please purchase a ticket for a chance to win - $10 apiece, with your contribution going to support our trip next week to the World Championship! We’re grateful for your support, and the generosity of the team at the Corning Museum of Glass!

04/06/2026

Robotics fans and supporters: Win a one-of-a-kind glass sculpture from the Corning Museum of Glass and help 5356 Team TARDIS on its way to the World Championship!

“Flex” the Robot was created by gaffer Helen Tegeler at CMoG during the Finger Lakes Robotics Expo on March 29. She generously donated Flex to 5356, and it can come live with you with a $10 entry to the raffle! Must be 18 years or older to participate, and the drawing will be on or around May 10.

See the graphic for details, and purchase entries at tinyurl.com/5356Flex — thank you for your support of our team’s trip to Texas! Please feel free to share this post.

Go Flex!
GO TARDIS!

03/25/2026

Join us Saturday and Sunday - don’t miss it! Fifteen teams from the region will compete for our first-ever FLX REX trophies, and the museum-wide celebration of STEM and robotics has something for everyone! FREE admission to youth 17 and under.

Be there!!

03/23/2026

Next weekend, Team TARDIS 5356 hosts a museum-wide takeover of the world-famous Corning Museum of Glass for a one-of-a-kind celebration of robotics and STEM - the first-ever Finger Lakes Robotics Expo!!

FLX REX will see 15 FIRST Tech Challenge teams take to the field for two days of competition, with educational activities, displays, and robotics-themed activities all weekend long for families and guests to enjoy!

The CMOG Hot Glass Show artists are getting in on the action too, with not two, or three, but FOUR robotics-themed hot glass shows, and a museum-wide hunt for "Rex" the Robot, who will be hidden in the collections for guests to find.

The NY State Troopers will be there with robots and drones they use on the job, there will be combat robots on display, and guests will have an opportunity to get up close and personal robots all weekend long.

Guests 17 and under are FREE at the CMOG, and we hope you'll join us for what is sure to be a fantastic weekend in the Crystal City! Don't miss FLX REX 2026!

03/22/2026

We're going BACK to Texas!!

Team TARDIS won the Excelsior Regional Championship on March 8 as Inspire Award winners and Finalist Alliance robot, and along with 5484 Enderbots, 5485 GorillaBots and FLL 22251 Children of Apollo, the Corning Robotics program has FOUR TEAMS advancing to post-season play for the first time in club history!

And — we need your help!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/corning-robotics-needs-your-support

We receive generous in-season and sustaining support from Corning Incorporated, for which we are always grateful. These post-season tournaments present our 55 team members and their families with additional costs for lodging, travel, meals and team resources, and we're asking for your support to help ease our teams' paths in the weeks and months ahead.

Any contribution will help, and we'd be grateful to have your support. Our three high school teams believe in the power of community — that's why they've contributed more than 1,800 team hours of STEM education outreach and community service in the past year, reaching more than 2,200 youth in the greater Corning-Elmira area.

Now, we turn to that community to ask for support — please consider a donation to TARDIS and its sibling teams on this exciting, unprecedented journey! Thank you!

The Corning Robotics organization needs your help! All three of ou… Mike Simons needs your support for Help Support Corning Robotics Post-Season Competitions!

03/09/2026

After an eventful weekend… TARDIS IS HEADED TO WORLDS!!!
Congratulations to Eavan and Thang for winning the FIRST Leadership Award!!! We are incredibly proud of you.

See you in Houston 🤖💜

02/07/2026

Join us for our fifth annual Camp TARDIS! Our FREE 3-day camp will run during midwinter’s break. Register today!