KIPP One Academy’s after school robotics club is in its second year, gearing up for the big First Tech Challenge in February. Last year, they were named Rookie of the Year at competition and placed 12th out of 18 teams even as they went up against mostly High School age students. This year’s challenge is to use robots to move large blocks to make the tallest skyscraper. The team is working hard twice a week after school to build their robots to take on the challenge.
Teamwork is a huge part of this club and you’ll hear everyone in robotics echo the teamwork sentiment. Seventh grader, Jocelyn says, “the thing that makes robotics interesting is that you get to meet new people, you get to build, you get to help each other. And most everything in here has to do with teamwork and for it all to work out you have to depend on each other…it will help you beyond just robotics, it will help you survive in the world.” Michael, a seventh grader says, “I enjoy building a lot and this is very creative and has a lot of teamwork so I enjoy that.” Ms. Williams leads the team and describes how much they’ve grown, learning to work together and value their team members. Good luck at competition this February!