5 Maui Schools Compete in Regional Robotics

Posted by Wendy Osher

Baldwin Robotics team Captain Jun Sasaki (left) and Prescott James Lorenzo work on Henry the 4th. File photo courtesy, BHS and Ed Tanji.

More than 1,000 students from across the state and the mainland are on Oahu, competing in the 2011 FIRST in Hawai‘i Regional Robotics Competition. The students represent 33 public, private and charter schools from the Big Island, Maui, Kaua‘i and O‘ahu, as well as Australia.

A total of five Maui schools are competing in the event, including Baldwin, Maui High, Lahainaluna, King Kekaulike, and Kihei Public Charter School.

The competition runs from today through Saturday at the UH Manoa campus.

Top-performing teams move on to the 2011 FIRST Robotics Championship at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri, April 27-30.  Teams from Waialua High School and Sacred Hearts Academy have already secured spots after earning top honors at regional competitions on the mainland earlier this month.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common engineering problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard “kit of parts” and a common set of rules. The competition allows students to apply academic knowledge and innovation, while developing teamwork, problem-solving, communication and critical thinking skills that will better prepare them to continue their education and enter the workforce.

In this year’s challenge named “LOGO MOTION”, two alliances of three teams compete on a 27-by-54-foot field with poles, attempting to earn points by hanging as many triangle, circle and square logo pieces as possible.