You may be asking yourself, “Why Robotics?”  “Why would I want to support such a club and for what purpose?”  When the question you should be asking yourself is, “WHY NOT?”  Robotics is more than just codes, computers, and advanced students working with complex math and electric motors. It is where students, coaches, and community volunteers work together to develop and build a robot and their team. It's where students and grownups alike learn new skills, interests and have new experiences that will last them the rest of their lives.

     From the start of the robotics season with the season’s reveal to the regional meet the students have the opportunity to learn new skills that cover a wide range of areas, including responsibility, cooperation, problem solving, and numerous social skills. In every area of the team’s process of building their robot and their brand, the students learn about, develop, and use these skills as they strive to do their part within the team.

   During the robotics season, the students, coaches and volunteers cover numerous courses ranging from math to phy ed to industrial arts to FACS.  As the robot is constructed, the students learn how to scale-up from a model or computer rendering, how to measure different dimensions, how to measure electricity and how to use space within the robots frame to its fullest extent.  While the robot is being built, some of the students start to work on other side projects such as sewing bumpers, practicing setting up and taking down the pit, communicating with local companies within the area for needed services, and managing schedules and setting goals for the team.

   Throughout the season the students are inundated with opportunities to learn and find their niche within the team. Whether it be in the design and building of the robot, or in the creation and layout of the teams logo and season’s costume, or even in the team's management and organization. Students have the opportunity to find what they are interested in and want to work on and then follow through to see their work payoff in the completed project.

   Additionally, the students within robotics have the opportunity to gain new experiences and develop new interest. These interests and experiences could lead them into a future carrier in one of the many fields covered within robotics program. The benefits mentioned are not limited to the students themselves, but are for the community as well. The ways that a community benefits from having a robotics team are students that become better citizens, the opportunity to learn something new along with the students, and develop a point of pride for the community.

 

So instead of asking “Why support Robotics?”  Say, “WHY NOT?”