High School Team Works On Robots Through Winter Break
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As NY1 and parent company Time Warner Cable continue their partnership with Connect A Million Minds and highlight education through science, technology, engineering and math, the station profiles a Queens school that is hard at work on building robots during winter break. NY1's Jon Weinstein filed the following report.Most New York City students are taking time off during winter break, but at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, a team of students are busy building robots.
This group, Team 3017, is running out of time to put together its entries in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Program's robotics competition. FIRST, an after-school program, encourages friendly competition and provides schools with the parts to build mechanic gizmos.
While building a robot from a bunch of metal scraps might seem difficult, the Francis Lewis students embrace the challenge.
"I guess to the human eye it might seem a bit complicated, but it's really simple," says Francis Lewis team captain David Parra. "For me, it's like putting milk and egg and stirring it up. It's like making cake."
In this year's competition, called "Breakaway," the robots will be programmed to score soccer goals and lift themselves up onto a platform.
Next month, teams from across the metropolitan area will descend upon the Javits Center to compete for New York City's regional championship. However, the students often realize the benefits long before the competition even starts.
"At home, I'm a really girly type, and I joined the manufacturing [team] and learned how to build all the robots and stuff, and it's really cool," says Francis Lewis junior Viola Wu.
"It gives them opportunities that they've never had before, like learning to work together as a team," says Francis Lewis team advisor Angela Sherman. "Some of the kids who have never used any tools are learning the proper use of a screwdriver, of a battery-operated drill. So there are a lot of skills that are out there."
FIRST teaches kids about robotics and teamwork and professionalism, but it's also a competition, and the Francis Lewis team wants to win.
"I'm a very competitive person. For me, I know this is just a friendly competition and all, but I always want to be the top player," says Francis Lewis junior and programmer Liang Chen.
Francis Lewis High School will bring 53 team members to the regional competition at the Javits Center from March 12-14. The National Championships are being held in Atlanta in April.
For more information on FIRST, visit USFIRST.org, and for more information on Connect A Million Minds, visit ConnectAMillionMinds.com.