BY TITHI MAYANI

On April 7-8th, 2018, our MDHS robotics team participated in the FIRST Robotics competition, held at McMaster University. This year’s challenge – Power Up – required team built robots to carry power cubes, flip switches, climb onto a platform, and use power-ups to gain points.

Our team got 6 weeks to build their robot. They worked hard designing the robot using CAD, welding the parts together, testing the robot to make sure it worked properly, and refining it until completion. One of their refinements included replacing the part of the robot responsible for picking up power cubes.

Our team had a great time participating. One of our members even got to sing the national anthem at the competition!

The FIRST robotics team is an excellent opportunity for students to learn about engineering, technology, and problem-solving skills. Students can have a fun time working together on a robot and entering this competition. As an added bonus, McMaster University offers a quarter million dollars in scholarships to FIRST alumni.