CERF was founded initially to support the Columbia-wide high school FRC team, Army Ants #3792, but the vision has always been for CERF to facilitate growth of local educational youth robotics programs, and engage mor students in STEM learning through hands-on robotics activities.
Army Ants members participate in more than 20 outreach activities throughout the year, including offering camps for younger students, mentoring FIRST LEGO League teams, volunteering at the annual FIRST LEGO League tournament, helping scouts earn badges and bringing robots out to community events, such as the CoMo Family Fun Fests.