The Unite Online Challenge sponsored by Google

Team 8995E won the Unite Online Challenge sponsored by Google. The prompt was to demonstrate why robotics should be inclusive and not exclusive. The freshmen team decided to run a boot camp in Jan. and this month to teach middle schoolers about robotics. Robotics in District 204 can be very exclusive, and the team was aware of this issue while going into their brainstorming. 

“Sometimes the same kids are getting picked every year, and some kids that are really interested in robotics never really get a chance to get involved in it,” Rao said. “We wanted to change that. We made this camp so that kids that have never been exposed to robotics or want more knowledge about it, they can get that. They’ll have a better chance of getting into their school teams or anything else related to robotics, they’ll have a good foundation.”

Their boot camp had three classes: designing, programming, and engineering. With over 100 students, they established a rotation cycle so every student can take all three classes. In the designing class, students worked in Tinkercad, a 3D modeling program, to create characters, rooms, and eventually robots. In the programming class, they worked in Vex VR, a programming simulator, to code a robot through a maze. In the engineering class, participants built paper bridges, working from the brainstorming phase to completion. 

These classes helped prepare students for designing, programming, and building robots for Vex competitions. Deepak Peddinti, a seventh-grader at Granger Middle School, feels more prepared for the season after learning about complex skills. He was on his school’s robotics team in sixth grade, but he did not feel like he was getting all the experience he wanted there.

“Before this boot camp, in sixth grade, we did do a lot of stuff in middle school robotics, but in my group, the eighth graders really did most of the stuff because they knew a lot,” Peddinit said. “Now that I know a lot, I feel like if I do get in, I can contribute a lot more to my team.”

August McNichol, a sixth-grader at Hill Middle School never knew what a robotics team looked like. He did not know what skills were needed, but the boot camp has taught him.

“It showed me a lot of the things you need to do, like certain programming languages, certain materials for the robots, and just what to be ready for in the robotics challenges,” McNichol said.

The team hopes to continue this boot camp in years to come. They want to provide more skill levels for their classes to provide more opportunities for learning. They also want to expand their geographical reach of students.

“In the future, we’re planning to expand our classes beyond the standard building, designing, and programming,” Parikh said. “Our goal is to make more advanced classes. They won’t only be for District 204. We want to branch out to other areas where everyone can join. You don’t have to be part of District 204, or even in Illinois. Our goal is to make anyone able to join.

McNichol was excited to hear that 8995E won the Unite Online Challenge. Beyond what he learned, he was glad that their hard work was being rewarded.

“I felt really happy that they won, especially because they are helping lots of kids and are getting rewarded,” McNichol said. “They have been teaching us all for free and trying to make sure that everyone has a good chance.”

Sharma, a member of the freshman team, was also very excited. Winning the Unite Online Challenge invites 8995E to Vex Worlds 2021 in April, and they can bring one other Metea robotics team with them. They are the first freshman team at Metea to qualify for the international competition. 

“Honestly, it was really amazing to see how a lot of the hard work paid off,” Sharma said. “Finding out was a really big adrenaline rush that just came through, and once I got over that, it dawned upon me of what we actually did because going to the international level is not the easiest task in the world.”

Romeo specifically was proud. He is always there for the teams when they need help, and they never fail to blow him away with their achievements. 

“I just could not be more proud,” Romeo said. “That sums it up. I could not be more impressed or more proud, and every year, the kids on the robotics team make me look really good because I very much put it in their hands to say, ‘you make what you want of this club, I’m going to be here to help you, I’m going to be your mentor, but if you want to put in the hours, you can do something awesome.’”