Imagine being able to build a robot from scratch and program it to complete various tasks.
Students in the Knox County Schools now have that opportunity thanks to a grant awarded to Lynn Camp from US First Robotics and the 4-H program.
Lynn Camp students, and one student from Knox Central, have spent the past semester piecing together a robot from scratch and programming it using a computer. In March, the students will test their robotic skills in a regional robot competition.
Arthur Canada, technology teacher at Lynn Camp and the robotics team’s supervisor, has been mentoring around 15 student participants for the competition. Although the robot fully functions, Canada states “It’ll be like going to a race. We’ll be driving a 1988 Ford while the rest of the competition has Ferraris.”
This is the first year that students in Knox County have had the opportunity to participate in a program of this nature. Canada’s willingness to sponsor a countywide program came after Renata Farmer, local extension agent, contacted schools to see if any were interested in applying for the robotics grant.
The 4-H program pays for students to attend the regional competition where students will challenge each other to see which team’s robot is the best.
Since the team started they have had great success in creating their robot and gearing it for the competition. The team has prevailed over some problems they were facing earlier. Jared Ammon, a robotics team member, has said “we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”
The robotics program is open to all students in the Knox County Schools. For more information please contact Arthur Canada at Lynn Camp, (606)528-5429.