The Santa Maria High School Robotics Club and a few engineers from Zodiac Aerospace participated in the Lego NXT Sumo Competition on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Members were divided into several teams and used the robots they constructed to battle each other.
Students Michael Salas and Sammy Lagunas, said the club has made them want to pursue careers in engineering.
“Building and working as a group is great. Learning about potential career opportunities in the technical and engineering world is fun too,” Salas said in a press release.
Club members started designing their robots several weeks ago. They assembled the kits with basic components, like brains and sensors, and Lego parts. There are no set instructions for the kits, just rules for the competition. Students organized the entire event.
Physics teacher and club advisor Ben Wieman believes the students are acquiring life skills.
“The kids are planning, creating, gaining confidence, and understanding [that] it takes steps to be successful,” Wieman said in the release.
The Zodiac Aerospace engineers, who also mentor the team, recently donated various tools and robotics kits. The students are presently figuring out the best uses for those materials.
This article appears in Feb 4-11, 2016.