NASA has provided grants to support robotics teams at four Iowa high schools.
Chris Stevens is the Industrial Tech teacher at North Union High School in Armstrong where students are building robots. “These robots vary in size up to 30 by 30 and up to four foot tall and weigh 125 pounds and we get a team of kids together,” Stevens said. “We design the robot and build it and then we program it and then take it to competitions.”
North Union received a $6300 NASA grant. Stevens said North Union is one of the smaller schools to have a team at robotics competitions. “It gives our students an opportunity to receive STEM training and education,” Stevens said, “and the experience to be on a team, working in a team atmosphere.”
Members of the North Union Robotics team fill a variety of roles. “They can be part of the design team, designing this year’s robot; the building team fabricating the robot; the programming team writing the program to tell the robot how to behave when given commands,” Stevens said, “or they can be part of the logistics side where they help with team communications, social media, community outreach or sponsorship working with local businesses and industry on team sponsorship.”
The other NASA grants went to the “Tech Tiger” robotics team at Grinnell High School, the “Wild Wires” robotics team at Earlham High School and the BCLUW robotics team.
(By Ed Funston, KILR, Estherville)