ROBOT'S MAKERS LEARN NUTS, BOLTS OF SCIENCE.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Lancaster High School's robot-building team is heading off to Florida after placing second in a regional contest, the highest level reached by the school in three years of competition. Twenty-four students will compete at the end of the month in a national robotics contest at Epcot Center in Florida. ``I can't wait,'' said senior Jonathan Wells Jonathan Wells may be:
Students raised the $20,000 needed to go on the trip, said Mick Bowen, an industrial technology teacher and team leader. The team participated in a regional For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology competition last week at the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Sports Arena, featuring 60 schools from Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and other Western states. A three-school team with Lancaster High School Lancaster High School may refer to:
Last year, Lancaster High got fourth place in the regional competition. ``It was more than we ever expected, for having such a bad start at the beginning of the rounds. A few of the rounds we didn't do too great, and we never gotten an award before this year,'' Wells said. ``It's nice to get an award for once.'' Lancaster High's squat rectangular robot is called ``Oompa Loompa,'' after the peculiar workers in the movie ``Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.'' Students spent nights, weekends and holidays over a six-week period in the beginning of the year creating the robot. Guided by remote control, Oompa Loompa moves on eight wheels arranged in pairs, each pair able to roll forward or backward independently. Steel arms on two corners are tipped with claws for grabbing the goals. To protect itself, the robot has a metal plate it can press to the floor, making it harder for opponents to shove it around the arena. The claws have locking bars so their grip on the goal can't be knocked loose. The Lancaster teens got help from volunteers who included engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. and Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. , a Lockheed Martin computer expert and an Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. test pilot school instructor. Teens said they worked days as long as 12 hours. The team is a school club, not a class. NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Dryden sponsors the Lancaster team as a way of encouraging teens to go into careers in engineering and technology. Another 20 businesses and organizations also have donated. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Lancaster High School's team gathers, top, around the robot Oompa Loompa, which has been entered in a national robotics contest at Epcot Center in Florida. At left, Chris Bellingham, left, and Justin Shelton get closer to Oompa Loompa. Charles F. Bostwick/Staff Photographer |
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