Har-Ber High School Students Want Robotics

STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Juan Zuniga, 15, left, and Brayden Rose, 16, replace parts on a robot component as Noah Wehn, 16, right, assembles a part.
STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Juan Zuniga, 15, left, and Brayden Rose, 16, replace parts on a robot component as Noah Wehn, 16, right, assembles a part.

SPRINGDALE -- Noah Wehn said he could spend more time working on his team's robot if he didn't have to drive to another school twice a week.

Wehn, a 10th-grader at Har-Ber High School, said he and his teammates drive 20 minutes twice a week to Southwest Junior High School to be part of a robotics team. Saving that time and having robotics at Har-Ber could mean a better robot and teammates being more prepared for competitions.

AT A GLANCE

Benefits Of Robotics For Students

• Robotics provide problem-based and hands-on learning

• Robotics can help students challenge themselves

• Robotics can help students become more familiar with different types of technology

• Robotics can teach students about design and programming

• Participation on robotics teams can teach students about teamwork and time management

Source: Staff Report

WEB WATCH

Robotics Video

To watch a video showing robotics at Lakeside Junior High School, go to www.youtube.com/wat… and fast forward the video to 0:46.

All five Har-Ber students on the team are in 10th grade, said Stephen Needham, Advanced Placement physics teacher at the school. They were on a Southwest Junior High team when they went to school there during the 2013-14 school year.

Needham said he hopes to have robotics in place as an elective class at Har-Ber during the 2015-16 school year. The main concern is space.

The field used for competitions is 12 feet by 12 feet, Needham said. Southwest Junior High School has a building the Springdale School Board donated. The building contains a practice field where students can test their robots.

Some discussions among Har-Ber officials have included the possibility of assembling a mobile field attached to a cart, Needham said. Another idea is to use the empty space upstairs near the concessions area in the basketball gym.

Bringing the team to Har-Ber also depends on money, Needham said. He estimated it would cost between $5,000 and $10,000 to start a team there. The team could ask the School District for help, accept donations from private organizations or apply for grants.

Wehn said he's always found engineering interesting, but the robotics team is what inspired his desire to pursue it as a career. He likes the field because the tasks he completes aren't repetitive.

"There are new problems every day," he said.

Four of the five team members stood around two work tables Thursday at Southwest Junior High. The table was littered with parts of the robot and smaller metal and plastic pieces. The students worked to build a lift so their robot can stretch high in the air to stack objects.

Robotics is good for students because it provides real world application of concepts they learn in class, Needham said. It also helps students develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking and communication skills. Two students on the team received summer internships from Pace Industries in Harrison, an aluminum die casting company.

Team member Juan Zuniga, 15, said he has learned failures can show him how to improve. He said this is the reason the team's motto is "failures united."

Fayetteville High, Ramay Junior High and Woodland Junior High have robotics teams, said Alan Wilbourn, Fayetteville district communications director.

Woodland Junior High offers students an automation and robotics class in addition to after-school robotics teams, said Jeff Seiter, math and pre-engineering teacher at the school. The class began four to five years ago with about 30 students and now has about 50. The robotics teams started three years ago with eight students and now has 22 to 30 students.

Needham said a team at Har-Ber could also see growth if established. Several students interested in being part of a team have approached him, especially if it counts as a class.

While she didn't have numbers, Hillary Lee, program manager for the Technology Student Association, said robotics programs in schools have grown in popularity in recent years. Robotics attracts students because it's a hands-on way to "fine tune" science, technology, engineering and math skills.

"Robotics is a very fun way to teach skills to students," she said.

The Bentonville School District has robotics teams at the junior high and high school levels, said Paul Stolt, district communications director. Officials are interested in developing robotics programs for younger students to teach them about engineering, problem solving and creativity.

Kirksey Middle School in Rogers has a robotics team, said Ashley Siwiec, district communications director. She didn't know how many schools in the district have robotics teams, but she said there might be more.

Teams in the Springdale are scattered among the district's elementary, middle school, junior high and high school levels, Needham said. Not all schools in the district have a robotics team, but he thinks there eventually will be.

NW News on 12/22/2014

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