Woodlands Academy Robotics Club excels in national competition
The Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart Robotics Club is hoping to receive the 3-D printer it won in a recent national competition just in time for Christmas.
The EKOCYCLE Cube Printer, en route to the Lake Forest all-girls college-prep high school, is one of approximately 1,500 made available by 3-D Systems and the Coca-Cola Company to winners of a contest open to FIRST Tech Challenge teams that are registered to compete during the current school year.
Participants had to submit a 300-word essay on how the team would use a 3-D printer for this season's robotics competition, as well as how its cartridges would be recycled. Woodlands Academy's winning essay was written by senior Laura Bartusiak of Lake Forest, with help from other Robotics Club members.
"Our plan is to use the 3-D printer to make parts rather than ordering them, while also learning the intricacies of an emerging technology," Woodlands Academy physics teacher/robotics coach John Denman said.
"The students and faculty are very excited, as the printer will be made available to the whole school. Its uses will be confined only by the limits of our imaginations."
Tech Challenge competition takes place at the regional, state and national levels each year. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are required as student teams brainstorm, design, build and program a robot based on sound engineering principles. The robot must be able to perform tasks that are specified at the start of each school year.
The Woodlands Academy team was scheduled to take part in a regional tournament Sunday, Dec. 14, at Lane Tech High School in Chicago, and will compete again Saturday, Jan. 24, at Chicago Math and Science Academy.
Motivating girls to be 21st Century science and technology leaders is what the 4-year-old Robotics Club at Woodlands Academy is all about.
According to the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, all-girls' schools lead the way in graduating women who become America's scientists, doctors, engineers, designers and inventors.
Research shows that girls' school graduates are more likely to consider majoring in math, science and technology and also are more likely to consider engineering careers compared to girls who attend coed schools.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. It does so by engaging them in activities that build science, technology, engineering and math skills, while also inspiring innovation and fostering well-rounded traits such as self-confidence, communication and leadership.