A group of 32 aspiring robotics team members took part in the first annual BHS “RoboCamp” program at Becker High School this week, according to robotics team coach Alex Jurek. The three-day camp was divided into two sections based on age, with students from grades 3-5 studying in the morning session and grades 6-8 in the afternoon each day.
The program included sessions with team members, coaches and mentors who worked with the students on engineering projects that included design and construction of mouse-trap powered cars that competed in a series of drag races, and construction of balsa-wood bridges that were required to bear a certain weight without collapsing. Students also had the opportunity to “drive” the 2014 competition robot, the “Liberty Xcelerator 2.0”, which the team has nicknamed “Gumdrop”.
Team members were also involved in creating the float in appearing in today’s Freedom Days parade, which will include the 2013 championship-winning robot, formally known as the “Liberty Xcelerator” (aka “Peanut”), and the 2014 unit, which will provide demonstrations of the catapult the team used in the recent state robotics tournament competition.
Among the BHS robotics team members taking part in the program were Jacob Charbonneau, Ryan Swanson, Cole Anderson, Alex Kolbinger, Laura Niday, Emily Knudsen, Danielle Girtz, Sydney Mastey and team photographer Josiah Christensen.
