Their mission was to save an island from being destroyed by a volcano ? using robots.
Brothers Wesley and Ethan Myers, of Columbia, used their computer-programming skills to operate a robot made of Legos so it could harvest pineapples, compost leaves, place rooftops on houses and clear away lava ? in reality, PVC pipes and small pompoms.
“The best part of building them is seeing if what you were working on actually works,” said Ethan, 14.
“It?s kind of frustrating when it doesn?t work.”
But the teens? hard work earned them first place at the recent 2007 International Botball Tournament in Hawaii.
The competition seeks to engage students? interest in science, technology, engineering and math with participants from 10 states and Poland competing in 65 teams.
“This particular international contest combines the joy of mechanics and gaming and the love of competition and camaraderie,” said Dave Smith, director of Cedar Brook Academy, the Clarksburg private school that Ethan and Wesley attend.
The contest was part of the National Conference on Educational Robotics, run by Keep It Simple, Stupid Institute for Practical Robotics, an educational nonprofit based in Oklahoma.
“School systems and after-school clubs are finding that a really good way to excite students about math and science is through hands-on activities,” institute spokeswoman Jenny Grigsby said.
The teens credit their mother with sparking their interest in robotics in 2004. They learned about programming and other relevant issues with interested friends at an after-school gathering. Wesley, 16, a rising senior, said he might want to study mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
In addition to the overall prize, Wesley and Ethan won the Conference Leadership award and took first and second place, respectively, in the combined Olympiad and Robot Trivia contests in the high school division.
AT A GLANCE
» Botball is a hands-on learning experience in which students learn the practical applications of science, technology, engineering and math in robotics.
Source: botball.org
