A group of students from nine years old up to age 13 are participating in Cyber Kids Robotics Camp. The students from Cornelius Elementary and Bailey Middle School spend the week planning and then putting into action their robotic creations. The camp finale features a presentation of their creation’s abilities during a parents-invited competition at the end of the week.
Groups participating in the camp are divided into teams and each individual team has a programmer, a driver, and a builder. The programmer uses a laptop to help program the movements the robot will make to complete the assigned course. The driver watches the robot on the course andmakes adjustments according to how the run goes. The builder makes the robot out of Lego blocks based on priorities set by the team when considering what the robot must be able to accomplish while negotiating the course.
Each group has three courses to complete and a course can’t be skipped. The team that completes the three courses the fastest wins the First Lego League competition. The winner of the local competition will advance to the state event to be held in Greensboro in December.
Kathy Kent is the president of Cyber Kids Robotics and Anna Holloway is the general manager. This will be the second year the women have helped organize this program and their second year with the dedicated group of students participating. Last year the robotics team representing the local camp earned recognition for achievement at state competition held at Charlotte Latin, and this year the program’s organizers have sights set on greater accomplishments.
“Cyber Kids is excited to see what Cornelius and Bailey Middle Schools Robotics teams will accomplish in the 2011-12 First Lego League season,” Kent says.
Principal James Garvin of Cornelius Elementary has been a steady supporter of the program, and Presbyterian Hospital is a primary sponsor of the camp. In order to join the camp, each student must go through an involved application process. To apply they need two teacher recommendations, one full length essay reviewed by a teacher and classroom grades deemed acceptable by the review committee.
For more details, visit www.cyberkidsrobotics.com or First Lego League at www.fll.com.
