Competition:
Robobrawl - Urbana, IL BotsKC - Olathe, KS Purpose: To ignite sparks beyond the ones that fly in the arena: sparks of curiosity that propel competitors into computer-aided design to craft their robots... sparks of insight as competitors realize those boring math classes have real practical application... and sparks of realization as team members start computing coefficients of drag and centers of gravity -- on their own. Description: Sparks fly. Metal crunches. A wheel pops free and ricochets off the Lexan barrier. Competitors grimace—then grin. And in the aftermath of battle, the participants walk away with a deeper, real-world understanding of science. Of technology. Of engineering. Of math. Years later, some land in careers that began the moment “Punisher 9000” and “Nightmare on Pain Street” traded mechanized, radio-controlled blows. Ask a competitor about NRL, and the first thing you hear isn’t likely to be anything about applied math, in-game testing or machining parts. Instead, you’ll hear about heartening wins, crushing losses and dude, Decimator flew 10 feet when I hit him!! And yet, underneath it all, school-age team members are getting a real-world technical education. Many, in the process, are being introduced to career options they may never have considered otherwise. Like a well-made robot gladiator, everything is precisely engineered for the desired effect. Check out gonrl.org for more information! To get an idea… |