SECME members on a mission to build robots

SECME members on a mission to build robots
By JASON PARSLEY | Forum Publishing Group
November 26, 2008

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/royal_palm/sfl-flrpfrobot1126rpfnov26,0,4093472.story

Seminole Ridge High School seniors Madelyn Gapko and Nadia Beni both like hands-on projects, and that is why they decided to join the newly formed Science, Engineering, Communications and Mathematics club at the school, 4601 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, in Loxahatchee.

The SECME Club allows students to apply what they learn in classes like physics to the real world. So far it has attracted about 60 members.

"It's a good way for me to learn," Gapko said.

While Beni added, "[The hands-on] is mostly what we do, but it's the best part."

The club recently had a movie afternoon to raise funds to purchase at least one Vex Robotics Design System kit so students will have the opportunity to build actual robots.

"This isn't here's a Lego kit, lets see if we can build something," said Erich Landstrom, SECME school coordinator and physics teacher. Over the summer he was introduced to the starter kit and said, "We literally went from a box of parts to two hours later we had built a radio-controlled robot."

Landstrom said he is excited to add the robotics component to the club.

"This is definitely something I want the Seminole Hawks to do," he said.

But first the club needs to raise the money to purchase the $700 kit. The club's next fundraiser will be another movie afternoon in January.

With the kit Landstom said he hopes that his students will be able to enter a robotics competition next year. This year's competition will ask students to build a robot that is able to travel up a ramp and be able to operate independently and by user control.

"My hope, my goal would be to go to the national competition," he said.

So far the club has designed and launched a film-canister model rocket, and constructed a spaghetti bridge from pasta and mini marshmallows.

Call 561-422-2600 for more information.

Seminole Ridge science teacher Mr. Erich Landstrom will receive a Citibank Success Fund Grant of $841 to launch his Rocket POWER (Positive Outcomes While Enjoying Reading) program. During Rocket POWER, students at Seminole Ridge will read and discuss the special talents and training necessary to become a rocket scientist. They will then be challenged to design, construct, fly and recover handmade, high-powered model rockets with two “egg-stronauts” onboard.

The Citibank Success Fund awards cash grants to support innovative classroom learning projects that encourage at-risk students to succeed in academics and stay in school. These funds, awarded by the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and Citibank, allow educators to develop innovative, easily replicable, grassroots programs, providing students with an opportunity to succeed and to associate that success with continued school attendance. Landstrom will receive the grant check during a dinner reception on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the West Palm Beach Marriott. The money will be spent on books and rocket construction supplies.

During weekly meetings of an after-school SECME Club (Science, Engineering, Communication and Mathematics Enhancement), students will read non-fiction, how-to books on model rocketry, including The Handbook of Model Rocketry and Rocket Boys: A Memoir, the autobiographical reminiscences of children whose lives were influenced by rocketry.

SECME students will then design, construct, and fly their own high-powered model rocket. This rocket, with a payload of two raw Grade-A large eggs, must reach a specific altitude of 750 feet and return undamaged to the ground within 45 seconds.

Rocket POWER hopes to:

• Spark enthusiasm for careers in aerospace among students;

• Curb dropout prevention by demonstrating the practical application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics;

• Provide positive outcomes while enjoying reading;

• Deliver foundational knowledge of aerospace principles in math and geometry, in sciences ranging from physics to meteorology, and engineering.