Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1470295
I N A P R I L , thousands of aspiring young engineers gathered in Hous- ton, Texas, for the annual First Robotic International Championship. Students from all over the world, including a rookie team and advisor from Half Moon Bay High School, competed and attended workshops. "e world championship was a wild ride for four days," accord- ing to rst-time robotics club advisor Sean Riordan, a member of Cabrillo Unied Teachers Association (CUTA). "We were one of ve rookie teams in the competition and we nished 46th out of 75 in our division." In addition, the team was awarded the "Gracious Professionalism" award. All in all, it was a great showing for the "Pumpkin Bots" (a reference to Half Moon Bay's famous annual festival) and their robot, Zip Tie. In fact, the robotics club had only started last fall in a Moss Beach garage and intended to participate in just one competition. Riordan , CU TA co-president and bargaining team member, teaches art, including metal sculpture. Teaching robotics isn't that big of a leap, he says. "ere is a lot of working with hands, building things with crafts and a sense of pride – that runs through my art classes and that applies to Zip Tie, too." Riordan learned with his students, calling the experience "exciting." "It's hard to keep your hands o something as fun as a robot. As a teacher I want to help as much as I can, but it's important to step to the side and let students fully take over." e Pumpkin Bots have stood out in their competitions because they are a small team that works exceptionally well together, Riordan Building a Better Bot Half Moon Bay Robotics Team is Moving Up By Cynthia Menzel said. Most teams have 20-40 students while Half Moon Bay 's team has fewer than 10. "Everybody gets their hands on the robot and that doesn't happen when you have teams of 40. Our two pilots were experienced in battle bots so we could engage in 'rough play ' really eectively," he added. The competitions have three challenges. First, stu- dents must make the robot move autonomously and shoot a basket for 30 seconds. e second two minutes have the bot collecting and shooting basketball-sized tennis balls into two baskets – eight feet and four feet high, respectively. e last 30 seconds involves the bots climbing a series of monkey bars that are four, six and eight feet tall. "By the end we accomplished all three challenges," Riordan said . "I 'm so proud of these students, how th e y gel l ed togeth er, th e g roup sh arin g an d w h at they 've accomplished." Club plans for the summer include familiarizing new members with Zip Tie (two members graduated) and computer programming. Donations to help subsidize costs for the robot build and maintenance, as well as transportation and lodging during competitions, can be made at oddfound.org/donate. Members of the Pumpkin Bots demonstrate how Zip Tie the robot can shoot a ball at the Half Moon Bay Odd Fellows Lodge. Parents and mentors Matt Noris, Chris Doty, Mey Wong and CUTA's Sean Riordan. 54 cta.org CTA & You