FIRST Robotics Competitions

Robots all lined up and ready to face off!

Nicolas has an interest in engineering, so in order to explore the option some more while still in high school, he joined a FIRST Robotics Team (Skyline High School – Team 3322).

Nick is hiding in the back row, & Tom is to the right/behind the guy in red

FIRST is a global organization which introduces high school students to the world of engineering through a series of competitions.  Teams all over the world attended a Kickoff Meeting on January 8th, where the specifications for the 2011 competitions were introduced.  The teams then had 6 weeks to design, fabricate, build, program, and test their robot.

Testing between matches in the pits at Kettering (Nick has the controls)

Tom and Nick, along with the rest of the team, spent 10 –15 hours each of the six weeks working on their robot.  In the end, it looks pretty good – and performs the intended functions, too!

Phase I – Robot is programmed to hang a tube by itself

 

Phase II – The Drive Team tries to hang as many tubes as possible in 2 minutes (Nicolas is the driver in this match)

 

Red-White-Blue logo formations earn bonus points.  Higher pegs are worth more, too.

The team has attended 2 Michigan Regional Competitions so far, and after pretty decent performance at each, they are currently in the running to compete at the Michigan State Competition in early April – we’ll know for sure after the two remaining regional competitions this weekend.

 

Team 3322 hanging tubes & successful minibot run

In the above video, the team’s robot was unsuccessful in Phase I, but performed well in Phase II, and successfully sent their “minibot” up the pole at the end of the match – BIG bonus points for that!  (Nicolas isn’t driving in this match, but he’s there in the driver area.)

I have been surprised at how elaborate and exciting the competitions are – there’s a  lot of action, and lots of noise!  It’s been fun, and we’re all enjoying the experience!

Days 3 & 4 -- Cincinnati, OH

Well, the last 2 days have been a whirlwind of activity!  We finished up our adventure in Kentucky with a hike to the natural bridge

and a shopping trip to the Visitor Center.

Mr. M doesn't look TOO tired, does he?

Then it was back to the Lodge to pack up  and get loaded up in the cars.  We really enjoyed our stay at Carter Caves State Park -- it was a great program, and we all had a wonderful time!

Then it was on the road to Cincinnati . . . we arrived in the late afternoon, and our first stop was the Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  No pictures allowed there, but it was very inspiring and educational.  After getting checked into the hotel, we enjoyed dinner at Skyline Chili and met up with Sister at the Observatory.  What a great program -- we were able to see Venus, the International Space Station as it passed overhead, and a satellite.  We also had a great view of Saturn through a gigantic telescope in the observatory building -- it was definitely worth the long line!

It was a warm night, so we treated the kids (and ourselves!) to ice cream on the way back to the hotel.

On Saturday, our first stop was the Cincinnati History Museum -- tons to see there, and we all learned a lot about the involvement of Cincinnati in the Westward Expansion and Industrial Revolution.

But I think Greg might be staying up too late at night!

Next stop was the Basilica -- it was beautiful!

We learned all about its history and architecture on our tour, and then stayed for Mass.

Hey, this would be a great ride back to Michigan!

After a pizza party, we burned off some energy by bowling.  We were a pretty rowdy group, but all in good fun!

That was it -- back to the hotel and to bed, and this morning we're packing up for the trip back to Ann Arbor.  I think it was a really good trip, and all the kids had fun together!

Winter Wonderland, Apple Pie, and Oprah

 

Yes, it looks like winter is back in Michigan -- at least for awhile!  I don't mind, I kindof like the snow!  Nicolas and Bryce already know they have a snow day tomorrow

so yes, they are happy!  They shoveled the sidewalks while Tom plowed the driveway,

and now Nicolas is pulling Bryce on the sled behind his three wheeler.

At the rate this snow is coming down, they'll have to do it all over again tomorrow!

This past weekend we had Nicolas' confirmation sponsor, Father Charles - the Chaplain from their school, over for dinner.  It was a nice afternoon of visiting, and the boys played some pool with him.

I made lasagna for dinner, and an apple pie for dessert -- YUM!

Today we made sure we got home early so we could watch Oprah.  If any of you saw the show today, there was a segment on a group of Sisters (nuns) from Michigan.  These are the Sisters who run Nicolas and Bryce's school.  It was a nicely done segment, even though Oprah kept wanting to talk about all that they "give up" to become Sisters.  They had done a little bit of filming at school one day, including some footage of Nicolas playing his guitar in the chapel, but that didn't make it into the show.  The focus was more on the community, rather than the school, but it was a great opportunity for them to get the word out to an audience that they might not reach other wise.

OK, I guess that's it for now.  I'm going to be a hermit for a couple of days until the roads clear!

B-I-N-G-O

On Friday, Nicolas' class hosted their first-ever Bingo Night fundraiser.  The parents planned and coordinated the event, and the kids hosted -- selling bingo cards,

calling bingo numbers,

selling concessions,

and making popcorn.

We planned the whole thing without knowing how many people would attend, but we had a really good turnout.  Almost half the families from the school came out to support the 8th graders and had a really good time.  It was so successful that we're already planning a 2nd bingo night fundraiser!