The Metro School is a very interesting concept; it’s a Columbus public school where the best and brightest can apply from the surrounding schools. The students that get accepted then take accelerated classes in partnership with The Ohio State University in the areas of math, science, engineering, etc. One of the paths through the school that focuses heavily on engineering incorporates the building and competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) each year as part of the curriculum. We joined in the fun to help “mentor” the young geniuses but we probably learned more from them than vice-versa. Check out the build photo album here.
Each year the competition is a little different and unfortunately they don’t get to saw the other robots in half but they do compete directly with kids from other schools. The theme of this 2011 competition is LOGOMOTION. Check out the video below for the details of this year’s challenge.
The first round of the competition is in Cleveland, a few hours away, the first week in April (even though the robot needs to be completed and shipped this week) so the team will have to travel and stay there for several days which of course cost’s money. If you would like to help out and sponsor the MetroBots 2011 team with any amount from $25 to $500+ please email my good friend Obsaa who is in charge of raising the money for their team. Your company will get its name on the website, T-shirts and the actual robot and is tax deductable.
