Robotics Team Visits Elementary Schools
Berkeley Heights Public Schools
Fifth grade students at Mountain Park and Thomas P. Hughes Schools were recently invited to enjoy a demonstration hosted by the Governor Livingston Highlander Robotics Team. The robotics team recently placed as the 1st place Alliance Team at their First Tech Challenge regional qualifying tournament. For the demo, students from the robotics team brought their award winning robot to show the younger students.
At these events, the fifth graders rotated around three stations, all of which taught them the basics to building and coding a robot. For example, students learned the nuances to coding by teaming up and helping one another navigate a “maze” while blindfolded. To introduce the hardware components of robotics, the fifth graders named the different robotic parts and learned how components like the CPU, motors, and sensors interact. Above all, they were captivated by the “robot driving competition,” where each student drove the robot around a specific course set up by the high schoolers.
This visit was facilitated by HEIGHTS Teacher Lisa Genua who shared, “It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm of the robotics team and how naturally they inspired the fifth graders. The students were so excited to learn more about the STEM opportunities available to them at Columbia Middle School and Governor Livingston High School!” This year, the Highlander Robotics team consists of over 15 members, spanning across all four grade levels. The team is led by code leader Ayush Kayal, build leader Joe Laposky, game strategist Vibhav Chaturvedi, outreach coordinator Justin Liu, and captain Katherine Zhou. Michael Maresca, GLHS Technology Education Teacher, is the coach and advisor for the team. Theteam recently placed in at least the top 24 out of the 48 teams at the competition, placing them in the top 24 teams out of 180+ total teams in New Jersey. This is the first time that the team has qualified and participated in the state competition in several years.
