(WXYZ) - The season for Michigan FIRST Robotics is well underway. <\/p>\n
And while building robots is fun, the program can also be a game changer for students, inspiring them to pursue an interest in tech related fields. <\/p>\n
Elyse Lopez Turner of Detroit Labs and Joaquin Nuno-Whelan of General Motors stopped by Broadcast House this morning to talk about the teams they help mentor from the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. <\/p>\n
\"FIRST Robotics is the best thing I've ever seen for teaching kids STEM activities...hands-on, quick and in six weeks, you go from not knowing anything about it to building a full working robot,\" said Nuno-Whelan. <\/p>\n
The pair showed off \"Mechanical Puma 1\" from the Western International High School team, the Mechanical Pumas. <\/p>\n
\"We did some pre-season education.. electrical, mechanical and also business, because in a team, they are not only building a robot, they have to present professionally at competitions. So it's been really inspiring to see students go from knowing nothing.. to building a full-on functioning robot, learning through play,\" said Lopez Turner. <\/p>\n
Each year, the teams are issued a challenge. This competition season, robots will have to be capable of shooting balls about 20 feet into a boiler and deliver gears to the center of the playing field where a team member will put them together to make a \"STEAMship\" take off. At the end of the match, Nuno-Whelansays the bots will then have to climb a six foot rope. <\/p>\n
\"They do it in teams of three together in an alliance, so they really build this \"coopertition\" -- it's called -- where they compete but cooperate at the same time,\" he said. <\/p>\n
Most importantly, they say, the program really helps give kids an eye on the future. <\/p>\n
\"We have over 50 mentorsthat come from mostly GM but other companies that work hundreds of hours with these kids and the near-peer mentoring, the robot is just the vehicle to make all of that happen,\" said Nuno-Whelan. \"With the 10 teams we now have at DHDC, and over 150 high school kids doing this... it's grown into a STEM-pipeline, so we have kids now graduating, getting full ride scholarships to study engineering and then we fight over hiring them.\" <\/p>\n
To learn more about FIRST Robotics, check this out. Also, if you're interested in learning more about the DHDC, go here. <\/p>\n
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Michigan FIRST Robotics program offers students new opportunities - WSYM-TV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (WXYZ) - The season for Michigan FIRST Robotics is well underway. And while building robots is fun, the program can also be a game changer for students, inspiring them to pursue an interest in tech related fields. Continue reading