Springside Chestnut Hill Academy's Team 1218 Vulcan Robotics: Standing (L to R): Paul Boehringer '15, Gib Randall '16, Drake Morewood ’18, Charlie Randall '18, Evan Weinstein '15, Antonio …
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At the Mid-Atlantic Robotics Regional Event, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy's Team 1218 Vulcan Robotics tied for first-place and won the Engineering Inspiration Award, which is given to teams that inspire others to respect science and technology.
The two-day event, held at SCH on March 13 and 14, featured more than 34 different area high schools. Two other teams – Team 225 from York, Pa., and Team 204 from Voorhees, N.J. – share the first-place award along with SCH.
SCH's first-place award and its Engineering Inspiration Award guarantee the team a spot at the Mid-Atlantic Robotics District Championship at Lehigh University from April 8-11. They will also compete in the MAR District Seneca Event from March 20-22 in Seneca, N.J.
Team 1218 worked for two months to prepare its robot for this year's competition, called “Recycle Rush” – a recycling-themed game played by two alliances, each with robots from three different teams.
To score points, teams had to stack totes on scoring platforms, cap those stacks with recycling containers, and dispose of pool noodles, which represented litter. All of the pieces used in the competition were reusable or recyclable.
Team 1218 operated throughout the two-day competition on student leadership alone.
"When you host a robotics event, all of the adults who are mentors for the host team are pulled into managing the event,” said Engineering Department chair and mentor Peter Randall. “This left the leadership solely in the hands of the students. Maintenance of the robot, operation of the robot, and strategy was all handled by the students.”
SCH hosts many FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) events throughout the year, from FLL (FIRST Lego League) to FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition), and continue to emphasize the importance of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.