UM Robotics

Rad Robotics Regiment in Action! 
By Anneliese Scheck, Eighth Grader

To tell the truth, I only joined the robotics team because I was bored and wanted an excuse to hang out with my friends after school. I never expected to learn as much as I did while having a blast at the same time.  The first of many tasks that we came across as a team was choosing a team name and logo. After much deliberation and debate, we settled on the Rad Robotics Regiment.

For the First Lego League competition, our mission was to build a robot, program it to perform simple tasks, and produce a presentation about nanotechnology in today’s society. Our team chose to focus on nanotechnology in the medical world and began to work on completing our checklist. Tim James, our student mentor and a member of the high school’s robotics team, taught our team the technological skills we needed to know about building and programming a robot. Mrs. Hanssens and Miss Meeks guided us through our research and the rehearsals of our presentation. After many grueling, exciting sessions together, we finally felt prepared to take on the competition at the University of Delaware.

On Saturday, January 27 at six-o’clock AM heavy-eyed team members, supportive parents, and mentors trudged onto the school bus destined for the university’s Bob Carpenter Center. When we reached our destination, all of us were giddy with nerves.  The stadium was packed full of people and practice boards for the robots. Never before have I witnessed a place exploding with so much team spirit!  After seven hours of interviews, presentations, and mini competitions, we ended up taking Third Place for Creative Presentation. Not too bad for our first year. Our team was elated to see that our hard work paid off!

Being a part of the Rad Robotics Regiment was one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m really glad I joined the team. Not only was I bursting with pride when we won a trophy, I walked away with a massive amount of scientific information.  Furthermore, I made new friends with students from the sixth and seventh grades. Don’t think that robotics is just for people interested in math and science.  If you are willing to work hard and try something new, then you’d be a good asset to the team. I wish the best of luck to next year’s team, and I hope they enjoy and appreciate the experience as much as I did.