Dollars in Action—The Robotics Club

AUTHENTIC AFRICAN MUSIC CONCERT
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Left to right: Mike Cohoon (red shirt), Sean Gugger   Left to right: Peter Sarkissian, Dennis Donnelly, (sitting)-Andrew Mikolajczyk, Mike Cohoon, Jack Isler, Sean Gugger, Joe Sinopoli, Scott Miller

In November of 2004, the foundation approved a grant that would provide the “seed” money for a new and creative program at the high school. With a little over $1600 the Robotics Club was born, and equipment was purchased to build the first robots. The main goal of the program was to help students become involved in problem solving and engineering. After building the “robots”, students were given specific tasks to perform. One such task was to hoist an object as high as possible. Using the robotic equipment, they were able to lift an object an amazing 106 inches! Then the students were asked to pick up the most weight possible. After achieving some mild success, the robot was able to pick up about 5 pounds. The students engaged in some intense work sessions and were ultimately able to lift an amazing 47 pounds! The students solved all these problems themselves; stretching their minds and remarkably improving their problem solving skills. In its first year, the Robotics Club participated in the nationwide “FIRST” competition in which they placed 28th, and won the “Rookie of the Year Award”. The foundation recently funded another $3000 in grant monies that will enable the club to enter the 2006 competition. Under the guidance of Bruce Light the program has grown tremendously over the course of this past year, and the students have had an extremely rewarding experience.