Admiral Moorer Middle School science teacher Myra Hicks couldn’t believe her eyes when she stepped into the Dothan Civic Center last October.
The noise was almost deafening. Cheerleaders were on the sidelines, marching bands were playing and the auditorium was packed with students, teachers and visitors.
All of this, she thought, for an academic event?
She was attending the Wiregrass BEST robotic competition, where local students build robots to compete in a specific challenge course.
This year, Hicks will lead a group of her own students, the AMMS Science Club, to compete in the Oct. 22 event.
By day, her classroom serves as a place where students learn about and become immersed in science. But in the afternoon, her classroom becomes a construction zone.
“It’s a learning experience for me just as much as it is for them,” said Hicks. “Robotics isn’t my area of expertise. So, we are learning it together.
“It’s really pushing some of these kids way out of their comfort zone. Ultimately, I hope this develops into a career for some of them.”
The students have to design and build a robot that can complete this year’s challenge, bug collecting. The scenario is this: In a research laboratory, three types of bugs have escaped: termites, flies and cockroaches. It’s too dangerous for humans to be inside the lab with these insects running loose. The team must build a robot that can go into the lab and collect these bugs.
Wiregrass BEST, which stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology, provides each team with a kit to build their robot at no charge. This includes all controls, wiring, construction materials and other items.
Winning this competition, however, will require more than a robot. Each team must also put together an information portfolio on their robot, build a display for the event and put together a marketing presentation to be reviewed by a panel of judges.
The top three teams move on to the regional competition. Each team has only six weeks to complete the whole project from start to finish.
Completing the work in that amount of time takes teamwork. Kyle Farmer, an eighth grader, said the project has been a great teambuilding experience for him. He’s also learned about the other students on the team.
“Learning everyone’s ideas has been the best part of it so far,” he said, “and learning more about my classmates.
“I’ve always kind of liked science. I’m really into world history, but science is like that favorite aunt you always love. I’m into the robotics; I’ve seen Terminator. And how many people here get to say they built a robot?”
Tylin Wilbourne, a sixth grader, likes working on the construction.
“I like building things,” she said. “Getting to build and use power tools has been the best part of it so far.”
And while Hicks admits to being a little stressed, meeting the deadline doesn’t seem like a hard task to Tylin.
“It’s not hard to get it all done,” she said, “but you’ve got to focus and get down to work.”
The club is still looking for volunteers or mentors to work with students on this project.
Hicks also invites the public to watch the students compete at the Dothan Civic Center.
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