January Regular Meeting 2026

MTRAS is an all volunteer effort and as such, we depend on the generosity of our members who devote their time to help forward our mission of advancing interest and education in the field of robotics. First and foremost, we hope each of our members enjoy and share our community. If you regularly attend meetings and would like to participate more, then please consider the following additional ways you can contribute to the group.

• Show and Tell - Bring your projects, even if they aren't complete, for show and tell during the monthly meetings. Others will likely learn from your work and might also be able to help you with yours.
• Host a Workshop - Have a talent with a particular subject and would like to share some tips and how-to advice with others? Please CONTACT US with your workshop ideas!
• Help Out with an Event - Throughout the year our group will participate in area events and presentations. Please see our Calendar for Volunteer Opportunities. Each event should have a volunteer registration form and details about the event.

There are only two requirements for being a member of the Middle Tennessee Robotic Arts Society:

1. Interest - you need to have an interest in robotics. Interest does not equal proficient.
2. Participation - you should participate in the group. Members do not have to attend the meetings to be members but we certainly encourage your attendance. Many of our members do not live close to our meeting place and choose to interact with others online through one of our social media accounts.

We are a come as you are, no experience necessary group. While our focus is on robotics, we love making all sorts of things and our members have a wide range of experience from none to professional. Our only real requirement is that visitors and members have an interest in robotics, electronics, mechanics, programming, and / or some other maker talent.

No. There are no fees or dues to be a member as we are all volunteer. When attending the MTRAS meetings you do not have to pay to get into the Science Center as long as you are only attending our meetings and workshops. However, if you do visit the rest of the Center after the meetings, we ask that you pay for admission since they are a great non-profit who are generously donating space for our meetings.

***NOTE: When attending meetings, please sign in at the security table to the right as you enter enter the Science Center. They will also be able to tell you were we are meeting.

Yes! We have several younger Makers as members ranging from 7 up. For younger children (under 14) we ask that you attend with them for safety.

We recommend that anyone with children interested in the subject attend our next meeting to see if we are a good fit for you. All you would need to bring is curiosity.

Our monthly meetings follow the format below. On occasion, we will deviate from this format but only if our meetings coincide with another event. In those cases, our meetings may be cancelled or the location altered. We will update our website and social media accounts with upcoming meeting information.

• 10:00 - 10:10 - Social/setup period for people to chat and/or those with a project to setup and prepare 
• 10:10 - 10:20 - Announcements of upcoming events / workshops and project show and tell / Q&A headcount
• 10:20 - 10:45 - Guest speaker / formal presentations
  (If you would like to present at one of our meetings, please contact us through this form)
• 10:45 - 12:00 - Informal show and tell and Q&A. Members can use this time to present both completed and in-progress projects to the group. Usually after each presentation there is a short Q & A with the presenter.
• Networking - If time remains before we break for lunch, everyone is encouraged to talk to other members about their projects, ask questions or just get to know each other. 

NOTE: Please take see our Events Page to see if we have a workshop scheduled. 

Our afternoon workshop time has no set format and can include the following. It is also possible that we will not hold a workshop. Please check our website calendar and Meetup page for workshop details. If you would like to host a workshop, please contact us through this form.

• Formal Workshop Training - Some of our members volunteer their time and knowledge to help others by hosting a training workshop. These can be one day events or span multiple workshops and can range in topics.
• Group Projects - If the group doesn't have a formal workshop scheduled, we may use the workshop time to work on group projects.