MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Whether the robots were racing down the drag strip or quickly scooping balls into buckets, the need for speed, creativity and teamwork ruled the day at the annual Polaris Palooza competition at Polaris Career Center.
Middle school robotics teams from Berea-Midpark, Brooklyn, Fairview Park, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls and Strongsville vied for prizes in the MadGrab and Dragster competitions March 14.
Robots at Polaris Palooza had their ups and downs during the MadGrab competition.Beth Mlady/special to cleveland.com
Polaris Palooza coordinator Cody Doud, a Polaris satellite instructor at Strongsville Middle School, was all smiles.
“Some of these kids have been working two to three months on these projects, meeting every day after school,” Doud said.
“The best part is watching the kids have fun with people they don’t get to see all the time.”
For Berea-Midpark Middle School students Johnathan Tran (Berea), Weston Daniels (Brook Park) and Mazen Lababidi (Brook Park), the day was all about seeing how their robot measured up in MadGrab.
“We worked almost every single day on it (since late January),” Johnathan said.
Mazen explained what had just led to their Round 1 win: “We decided to add a motor on the scoop, which nobody else did.
“That gave us a movement advantage.”
Students hoped their dragsters would have that extra oomph to travel the greatest distance from the starting line.Beth Mlady/special to cleveland.com
Berea City Schools Superintendent Tracy Wheeler talked about why she loves watching the kids being so engaged with their robots.
“It’s the future of where we’re going,” Wheeler said, noting that Berea-Midpark Middle School has had the STEM-based Project Lead The Way program in partnership with Polaris for years.
“What’s cool is … watching the kids getting more involved and excited about this hands-on opportunity to do robotics and automation,“ she said.
“These students will be able to go right into a robotics club when they get to the high school, which I think is amazing.
“I’m very proud of them.”
Problem solving, collaboration and teamwork were some of the positive skills students gained while building their robots over the past few months and then competing at Polaris Palooza.Beth Mlady/special to cleveland.com
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