Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The first-ever Port PiraTech robotics team that formed at the Port Washington High School this year kicks off the awaited competition on Thursday.
The first-ever Port PiraTech robotics team that formed at the Port Washington High School this year kicks off the awaited competition on Thursday. The group of more than 30 students held meetings from 6 to 10 p.m. four nights a week, and from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays starting January through mid-February to build the robot for the competition that lasts all weekend. While the program seems science based, volunteer Jim Valasek said it touches more interests than meets the eye. "(The students) are almost running a little business," said Valasek, who is also a senior project manager at Rockwell Automation. Students are divided into teams such as designing, building, marketing as well as fundraising as part of the project, he said. …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Port PiraTech Robotics team hosting an open house on Monday at Port Washington High School.
As the counter ticks away with 17 days and hours remaining for the Port High School Robotics team to completely finish building their robot — another important date for the team is more quickly approaching. The Port PiraTech Robotics team is hosting an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday in Room 423 of the High School. "Come see what we've been up to and where your support has taken us so far!" the flier for the event says. The Port PiraTech robotics team formed at Port Washington High School for the first time ever this year. They meet from 6 to 10 p.m. four nights a week, and from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays; they have until Feb. 19 to build the robot for a competition to be held in March. The robots cannot cost more than $4,000, …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Port Washington High School is participating in the FIRST Robotics competition for the first time this year, and students are spending lots of hours in preparation for the event.
While from the outside a high school robotics team seems like something that caters to science-minded students, FIRST Robotics volunteer Jim Valasek said the mentor-based program is about more than learning one genre. "(The students) are almost running a little business," said Valasek, who is also a senior project manager at Rockwell Automation. Students are divided into teams such as designing, building, marketing as well as fundraising as part of the project, he said. FIRST stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," and the program has several levels of robotics competitions, offering opportunities for kids age 6 through high school. The Port PiraTech robotics team, formed at Port Washington High School for …
