Middle and High School Robotics continues in full-gear this fall. Various equipment and technology is covered in the middle school session while high schoolers are tackling specific chores with their creations.

The Middle School robotics program is gearing up for a FIRST Lego League competition in December. In preparation, 12 students meet on Tuesdays from 2:30-4:15 with Evan Thayer and dedicated community volunteer, Eric Jensen. Their main topic for this year is nanotechnology. Each session begins with a mini-lecture followed by hands-on creating. The students are working with equipment like light, touch and rotation sensors and learning programming topics such as forks and loops. Reinforcing their structures is the construction challenge of the season as they ready themselves for the year-end meet.

High School students will compete in the FIRST VEX competition in January 2007 with their robots designed to collect softballs and place them in 2-ft. high containers. The competition field is a 12x12 ft. grid in which multiple robots will function together. While the group meets regularly on Wednesdays and folks are welcome to visit, these more sophisticated creations often travel home for further refining.