IN OUR SCHOOLS

FIRST Robotics, MakerFest event set for Mount Olive

Prachi Rao and Anoushka Rodrigues

Mount Olive High School

Lauren Piatti, the technological project lead of MORT 11, is working on an electrical board for the team’s robot, which will compete in the Mount Olive District Competition from March 9 to 11.

CENTRAL JERSEY – Student-built robots from Basking Ridge, Bridgewater, Edison, Metuchen, Montgomery and Plainsboro will be among 40 high school teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania battling each other March 9 to 11 at the Mid-Atlantic District FIRST Robotics Competition at Mount Olive High School.

In conjunction with the competition, the school will host its first Marauder Maker Fest, featuring science and technology activities for all ages, on March 10. Both events are free and open to the public.

Competing robot teams will include TEST Team of Bridgewater, Cougar Robots of Skillman, Pingry Robotics of Basking Ridge, Falcon Robotics of Metuchen, MidKnight Inventors of Plainsboro and Warhawks of Edison.

The robots will compete for district rankings in a game called "Power Up." Modeled after a retro video game, the competition requires robots to team up to gain control of a seesaw-like scale by placing more milk-crate-sized cubes on their side of the scale. The team can also gain points for “power-up” advantages by stacking cubes in a vault.

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Top-ranked robots after district competitions advance to regional and, potentially, world robotics events later this spring. Teams also compete for various awards, including the prestigious Chairman's Award for its overall program.

The Mount Olive competition, which annually attracts more than 2,000 students, parents and community members, this year will include robots from Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties as well as Pennsylvania.

"The Marauder Maker Fest’s goal is to demonstrate how school districts in Morris County and beyond are celebrating both STEAM (Science, Technology Education, Arts, Math) education and 'making,'" said Gretel T. Perez, Mount Olive School District director of science and STEAM.

"Therefore, many schools have been invited to exhibit work students have done. There will be tours, musical performances, competitions in art and a pinewood derby, a drones exhibition and so much more."

Billy Albert, Beta Team 193 member, competed in the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition as part of the drive team. Beta will be among 40 robotics teams competing at the Mount Olive District event from March 9 to 11.

Fest exhibitors include Bloomfield Robotigers robotics team students demonstrating projects including using 3D printing of hands for children in need and providing a prosthetic to help a crippled dog live a better life; Rockaway Township giving an Ozobot demonstration, with activities to help participants of all ages learn to code using color; Chatham School District’s design and technology teacher showcasing course projects and demonstrate prototypes and robots; a Jefferson School District teacher demonstrating how to use an Xbox Kinect for scanning and 3D printing; and Roxbury High School highlighting its STEAM activities.

"The Mount Olive School District felt that the Maker Fest — this celebration of student ingenuity and design — was a natural fit with the robotics competition being held at the school on this weekend," said Ernie DiCicco, event coordinator.

"Principal Kevin Stansberry thought that there could be no better event to hold the Make Fest with than our FRC event because of the obvious STEAM connection."

Mount Olive is home to the Mount Olive Robotics Team 11 (https://mort11.org/), which hosts and competes in international FIRST robotics competitions as well as participates in multiple service projects each year. In its 22nd year, the team involves 150 students — about 10 percent of the high school population — and pioneered the concept of a second, freshman team (Beta 193). Mount Olive High School is home to a full robotics shop that is funded with the support from the school district and team sponsors.

All are welcome to attend the Maker Fest from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 10 and the Power Up competition from 4 to 10 p.m. March 9 and from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. March 10 and 11.

For more information, contact event coordinator Ernie Dicicco at dicicco-highfield@att.net or 201-519-9298. For more information about the Mid-Atlantic District FIRST Robotics Competition, go to www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc.

Another place to see robots

The Bridgewater Raritan High School Robotics Team 303, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is hosting the annual Bridgewater-Raritan District Competition on March 17 and 18.

The family-friendly free event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days at Bridgewater Raritan High School on Garretson Road in Bridgewater.

FIRST Robotics Teams from around New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware will come to compete at the event for this year’s game, FIRST Power Up.

The competition will be conducted in the gym of the high school while concessions will be sold in the cafeteria throughout the day. Team 303 invites all community members to come and watch the robots in action and support the teams.

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