With focus and perseverance, 30 students in Seaford High School’s new Engineering/Robotics Club have been working five hours a day, six days a week over six weeks to create a robot that throws a flying disc into a goal both independently and with human interaction.
Seaford’s robot will debut at the 14th Annual Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition at Hofstra University’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex taking place from April 4-6.
This year's competition, called Ultimate Ascent, includes 48 Long Island teams and consists of three robots competing at a time to score as many discs into their goals as they can during a two-minute and fifteen-second match. Winners compete in the national competition in St. Louis later in the school year.
Along with the challenges of devising a formidable robot, club members, advised by School-to-Career Coordinator Lauren Thompsen and Technology teacher Nick Isgro, are designing, building and testing wind turbine designs for the regional KidWind 2013 Challenge at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, scheduled just days after the robotics competition on April 10. In addition to building an efficient wind turbine, students must prepare a presentation about the development and process they took to achieve their designs.
Last year, Seaford High School students swept the high school competition, winning first, second and third places. The team hopes to defend their titles this year. Led by club Vice President Elena Alberti, the students have fundraised over $2,000 to help them compete successfully.
“The task these students were able to accomplish should not be taken lightly,” Thompsen and Isgro explained. “There were many struggles, but they persevered through it and made an excellent robot. With their hard work, the future looks very bright for the Engineering/ Robotics Club.”
For more information on the Engineering/Robotics Club please visit www.seaford.k12.ny.us/Page/3437.
