A new and innovative enterprise is on a trajectory at MTS High School.\u00a0 It will be the first competitive robotics team at MTS and a boost for the STEM program at the school promoting science, technology, engineering and math interests.<\/p>\n
The FIRST team begins with 13 students.\u00a0 The FIRST acronym is \u201cFor Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology\u201d at firstinspires.org.<\/p>\n
Students assemble a robot to compete in a castle-like setting, breaching defenses, throwing balls called boulders and capturing opponent towers.\u00a0 They travel in early March to the Lake Superior Regional competition in Duluth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes 21st Century skills to be successful in America, even in the world,\u201d said Emmanuel Obikwelu, the MTS science teacher who is spearheading the effort.\u00a0 Dallas Wilm is the area engineer advisor to the program and interacts with area donors.\u00a0 Wilm works for Xcel Energy at the company\u2019s Riverside Plant in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great way of learning,\u201d said Wilm to the student team.\u00a0 \u201cYou get to see the end result and it\u2019s really rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team leader, senior Patricia Brown, is a highly motivated JROTC student who is already planning on a career in nuclear engineering.\u00a0 She is working closely with Mr. Obikwelu on securing grants and recruiting students for the team.\u00a0 Some $10,000 will be needed for the program, and more than half has been raised with a \u201crookie\u201d grant and help from IBM and Pentair Corporation.<\/p>\n
Brown started checking out students earlier, offering assignments to some and then reviewing their responses.\u00a0 \u201cScience is kind of like second to math, nobody really likes it,\u201d she said, but adds that even those who aren\u2019t at the top on the team can still get a lot from it.<\/p>\n
The robotics team leader enlisted in the U.S. Navy and serves as a cryptic technician, a job that helps in positioning troops correctly, based in part on decoded enemy messages.\u00a0 \u201cTechnology, engineering and math are all areas where people are needed,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new and innovative enterprise is on a trajectory at MTS High School.\u00a0 It will be the first competitive robotics team at MTS and a boost for the STEM program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n