Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Robotics team gives students a taste of engineering, teamwork
Valley Press on ^ | Sunday, July 13, 2008. | TITUS GEE

Posted on 07/13/2008 1:34:59 PM PDT by BenLurkin

Classic rock pounded from the sound system and kids broke into spontaneous dance moves.

A quartet of robots took center stage in a tiny makeshift arena, preparing to test their metal in a game of skill.

The competition culminated a weeklong engineering workshop sponsored by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Lancaster High School Eagle Robotics Team and the AERO Institute at Palmdale's civic center.

More than 40 middle school students attended the workshop, at which they learned about mechanics, engineering and electronics from Lancaster High's robotics team members. Organizers divided each day into two parts - mornings in the classroom and afternoons in the workshop building robots.

The older teens "make it their own and they are the ones that actually deliver the information," said Cecilia Cordova, a project manager representing NASA.

Adult speakers also visited to talk to the kids about NASA's Hubble space telescope and about the dynamics of leadership.

"We're trying to give the students a taste of how a team works," Cordova said.

The workshop is an outreach program to get kids involved with a program called For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology. Commonly known as FIRST, the national organization promotes science education and sponsors robotics programs for various age groups, most notably a high-school competition in which teams have six weeks to build robots to accomplish a specific task. The teams compete in regional competitions, culminating with the annual FIRST Robotics Championship.

Organizers hope the AERO Institute workshop will get younger kids interested in FIRST and thus in science and engineering as career paths.

The six-day workshop ended Saturday at the AERO Institute, 38256 Sierra Highway.

(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...


TOPICS: Education; Local News; Science
KEYWORDS: robotics
"READY TO ROLL - Flaming Lightning team members Silver Castillejo, left, and Douglas Lorenti work on their robot "Cyclone" before competition Saturday at the student robotics workshop at AERO Institute in Palmdale." EVELYN KRISTO/Valley Press
1 posted on 07/13/2008 1:34:59 PM PDT by BenLurkin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
"A quartet of robots took center stage in a tiny makeshift arena, preparing to test their metal in a game of skill. "

I'd like to think that the author was engaging in a play on words. But considering the state of today's journalists, I doubt it.

2 posted on 07/13/2008 2:26:31 PM PDT by Erasmus (I invited Benoit Mandelbrot to the Shoreline Grill, but he never quite made it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
Brutal article; thanks for posting it.

The FIRST program pits high school teams against each other in competitions. The 'bots are remote controlled, and the stuff to build the 'bots costs about 5 grand. The kits include wheelchair motors, circuits, everything the team needs. I went to a competition in San Jose. It was incredible. Hundreds of people cheering on ROBOTS, for crying out loud. One of the tasks was to grab beach balls and put them in these goals. Another was to lift the bot off the ground from a wire ten feet above the platform.

FIRST fosters engineering in high school. The FIRST Lego League does the same thing for 4th to 8th graders. The top teams of FIRST get cracks at engineering scholarships and the like; MIT, Ford, etc., actually scout these tournaments. FLL top teams meet to compete against teams from all over the world. One team from my kid's school went this year. It's insane fun. usfirst.org is the website.

3 posted on 07/13/2008 4:31:26 PM PDT by Othniel (Kirk: Don't trust them. Don't believe them. Spock: They're dying. Kirk: LET THEM DIE.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Othniel

Lego is a major player in robotics. A cheap way to get into the field.


4 posted on 07/13/2008 4:34:00 PM PDT by RightWhale (I will veto each and every beer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson