(March 10, 2016) For two consecutive years, local robotics team Titanium Wrecks has earned spots in the FIRST World Championships robotics competition in St. Louis. This year, it hopes to make it three in a row.
Last Thursday, the squad (T-Wrecks for short) showed off its latest creation to several dozen delighted children enrolled in afterschool programs at Berlin Intermediate School.
The private, nonprofit T-Wrecks group is comprised of a handful of high school students based in Worcester County. On Jan. 9, the team was given materials for this year’s FIRST competition (FIRST is the acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
The competition will center on a medieval-style castle with several obstacles, including a tower that can be taken out by launching “boulders” through a small opening.
In just six weeks, the team had built its latest bot, dubbed “SHwreck.”
“There are lots and lots of details to these projects. We’re really teaching the kids about engineering,” Dave Black, programming mentor, said. According to Black, three-to-four students worked on the bot during each meeting at T-Wrecks base in Snow Hill.
“We had to help them along, but we got them there,” he said. “I think we’re going to do really well [in St. Louis]. It’s a good robot. I’ve seen some of the other teams, and I think we have a good chance.”
At BIS, team members Daniel Black, Josh Schmucki and Ben Jolley took turns controlling the robot and interacting with the young students, grades 4-6.
“We made the whole robot from scratch,” Schmucki told one student. “We had some of the parts made for us, but we had to buy some other parts, like aluminum and some other fabrics and wires, and we went ahead and put it together.”
During a question-and-answer session, children asked what the robot ran on (a 12-volt battery), whether there were classes for building robots (there are) and if T-Wrecks bots ever broke down during competitions.
“All the time,” Schmucki said.
Asked how fast SHwreck, named after its Snow Hill birthplace, could move, Schmucki provided a demonstration, racing across the gym floor with the bot close by. Students also played catch with SHwreck using a volleyball, and even took turns on the controls.
Fifth grader Jessica Beck said she enjoyed the demonstration, and that she already had some familiarity with robotics.
“My brother was on the Stephen Decatur High School robotics team,” she said, adding that she would like to take part in a team as well – when she is old enough.
Sixth grader Daniel Lugasi also gave his seal of approval, saying he thought SHwreck was “pretty cool.”
“I liked how it threw the ball,” he said. One day, Lugasi said he would like to build his own bot.
Diane Jolley, an educational assistant at BIS, said the robotics programs help get the students involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Her son, a senior at Decatur, is also a member of the T-Wrecks.
“I’ve been involved for three years now,” she said. “I love it. I think it’s really a great opportunity to introduce kids to STEM and get them excited about science.”
She said her son was planning to study bio-medical engineering in college.
“It’s something he can put on his college applications and scholarship applications. It’s making him more well-rounded, working with the team,” she said.
T-Wrecks is looking for donations to help offset the cost of materials and to pay for travel expenses. For more information, contact Paul Suplee at 443-880-1986 or pgsuplee@gmail.c om, or visit www.team-t-wrecks.org.
Last Thursday, the squad (T-Wrecks for short) showed off its latest creation to several dozen delighted children enrolled in afterschool programs at Berlin Intermediate School.
The private, nonprofit T-Wrecks group is comprised of a handful of high school students based in Worcester County. On Jan. 9, the team was given materials for this year’s FIRST competition (FIRST is the acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
The competition will center on a medieval-style castle with several obstacles, including a tower that can be taken out by launching “boulders” through a small opening.
In just six weeks, the team had built its latest bot, dubbed “SHwreck.”
“There are lots and lots of details to these projects. We’re really teaching the kids about engineering,” Dave Black, programming mentor, said. According to Black, three-to-four students worked on the bot during each meeting at T-Wrecks base in Snow Hill.
“We had to help them along, but we got them there,” he said. “I think we’re going to do really well [in St. Louis]. It’s a good robot. I’ve seen some of the other teams, and I think we have a good chance.”
At BIS, team members Daniel Black, Josh Schmucki and Ben Jolley took turns controlling the robot and interacting with the young students, grades 4-6.
“We made the whole robot from scratch,” Schmucki told one student. “We had some of the parts made for us, but we had to buy some other parts, like aluminum and some other fabrics and wires, and we went ahead and put it together.”
During a question-and-answer session, children asked what the robot ran on (a 12-volt battery), whether there were classes for building robots (there are) and if T-Wrecks bots ever broke down during competitions.
“All the time,” Schmucki said.
Asked how fast SHwreck, named after its Snow Hill birthplace, could move, Schmucki provided a demonstration, racing across the gym floor with the bot close by. Students also played catch with SHwreck using a volleyball, and even took turns on the controls.
Fifth grader Jessica Beck said she enjoyed the demonstration, and that she already had some familiarity with robotics.
“My brother was on the Stephen Decatur High School robotics team,” she said, adding that she would like to take part in a team as well – when she is old enough.
Sixth grader Daniel Lugasi also gave his seal of approval, saying he thought SHwreck was “pretty cool.”
“I liked how it threw the ball,” he said. One day, Lugasi said he would like to build his own bot.
Diane Jolley, an educational assistant at BIS, said the robotics programs help get the students involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Her son, a senior at Decatur, is also a member of the T-Wrecks.
“I’ve been involved for three years now,” she said. “I love it. I think it’s really a great opportunity to introduce kids to STEM and get them excited about science.”
She said her son was planning to study bio-medical engineering in college.
“It’s something he can put on his college applications and scholarship applications. It’s making him more well-rounded, working with the team,” she said.
T-Wrecks is looking for donations to help offset the cost of materials and to pay for travel expenses. For more information, contact Paul Suplee at 443-880-1986 or pgsuplee@gmail.c om, or visit www.team-t-wrecks.org.