Robots take over Lafayette Township School

LAFAYETTE — Students from school districts all over northern New Jersey were learning their lessons from robots on Saturday, Nov. 23, as Lafayette Township School hosted “The Tiger’s Cup” FIRST Lego League Qualifying Competition.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an initiative founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, to help interest students in science and technology. The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Lego League (FLL) are two of its programs. The FRC is directed at high school students, while younger students take part in the FLL.

"This is a qualifier for the state event," Nancy Estevez, a science teacher at Lafayette and event coordinator, said. "There are nine other qualifier events going on in New Jersey. Of the 14 teams participating here today, five will go on to the state championship. It’s an exercise in team building as well as well as in robot design."

Several types of exhibits, skits and events focused on engineering, technology and robotics culminated in a robotic skills competition. The theme of this year’s event was “Nature’s Fury” and students concentrated their efforts on how their inventions would be able to assist people when faced with natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis and the like, no doubt inspired by last year’s hurricane Sandy.

Middle school students Caitin Bailey, Bridget Guziewicz and Kayla Kawaihae of Halsted Middle School in Newton gushed with enthusiasm as they described the engineering challenge they were given.

“We had to build something that would catch a golf ball from a 10-foot drop, using only 18 inches of masking tape.”

Halsted student Alex McCully helped prepare a video skit on what not to do in case of a tornado, followed by a stage skit showing the correct actions. James Hofmann, coach for the Newton team, shared his mentoring skills and proudly spearheaded the group’s efforts.

Down the hall, robots constructed by the student teams were tested on tabletops designed to resemble miniature communities. Robotics students began with a Lego Mindstorms NXT Brick, a programmable, block-shaped computer, and go from there. The finished robot must be able to tackle such challenges as “landing” on a miniature airstrip and picking up various items. Points are awarded for each success.

“Each year’s experience is evident the following year,” says Andy Van Orden, a math teacher at Kittatinny Regional High School and a judge at the competition. “The learning curve is phenomenal. They all see what the other kids do, and learn for the next year.”

Frank Zhang was visiting from Bayonne with his 9-year-old son Haamo.

“Ever since my son was 5, he’s been fascinated by Lego,” says Zhang. “I think this event is a good idea. It teaches kids how to build and helps give them some background in business and engineering.”