Patrick Henry High School students showed their mettle at the Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics Competition at Williams Arena on April 2 and 3. Over the course of six weeks, the team of 60 science and engineering students from Patrick Henry devoted hundreds of hours to design and build their robot for the competition. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics, founded by Segway inventor Dean Kaemen, brings high school students together from around the country and inspires them to be leaders in science and technology, and to promote the benefits that science, technology and engineering bring to our daily lives.
Teams participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition are briefed on the nature of the competition and the types of tasks their robots will have to perform. They then have just six weeks to design, build, test and fine tune their robot before the competition.
The Patrick Henry team, named HEROBOTICS, built their robot, dubbed HERO 3 to maneuver through a specially designed playing field with other robots, each trying to outscore the other by kicking soccer balls into their opponent's goals. During the competition each robot is teamed up with two other robots for a 3 on 3 match. Throughout the competition, HERO 3 deftly maneuvered around the course, passing through tunnels designed into the playing field and kicking balls into goals. In their first heat of the day HERO 3's team handily beat the competition 4 to 0. In the second heat, HERO 3's team won by a score of 3 to 1.
In the end, HERO 3 advanced to the semi-finals and finished 11th out of 63 teams. In addition to making it to the quarter finals, HEROBOTICS' Safety Captain Blaishia Lee was recognized with the STAR of the Day award which recognizes students who go above and beyond in representing their team and the FIRST competition. For the second consecutive year, the team also won the Engineering Inspiration Award, which qualified them for a trip to the championship round in Atlanta, Georgia. The Engineering Inspiration Award is given for excellence in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team's school and community.
According to Patrick Henry science teacher Shabaka McKey, who runs the robotics program at Henry, the HEROBOTICS team worked hard to raise awareness of the team, the competition, and the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "The team was very involved in outreach to local elementary and middle schools, Girl Scouts and other community organizations. They worked hard to raise the team's profile and increase membership" McKey said.
Building a successful robot requires planning, research, materials acquisition, scheduling, marketing, public relations, and a host of other skills and abilities. Above all, students learn about teamwork and collaboration. Although the robotics meets are framed as competitions, teams are encouraged to share their skills and resources. There is as much cooperation between the teams as there is competition. As one team member put it, "Everybody cheers for everybody else."
The Patrick Henry Robotics Team is proud to represent North Minneapolis at FIRST Robotics Competitions and at the other outreach activities they do. The team also relies on the community's support. Adults with expertise in engineering, programming, management and other related areas are encouraged to help out. Anyone interested in serving as an advisor or mentor to the team is encouraged to contact Shebaka McKey at 612-668-7895 or Shabaka.McKey@mpls.k12.mn.us. Consider helping the HEROBOTICS Team fulfill their team motto "Together we will build a new, heroic future."