LIHU‘E — Paul Jonas said he wishes he had programs like these when he was a young boy. The coach and mentor works for Hawai‘i Tech Academy, a charter school from Princeville that made its first appearance at the Robotics
LIHU‘E — Paul Jonas said he wishes he had programs like these when he was a young boy.
The coach and mentor works for Hawai‘i Tech Academy, a charter school from Princeville that made its first appearance at the Robotics Expo, Saturday, at Kukui Grove Center.
The Hawai‘i Tech Academy team recently competed in the 2010 Botball Robotics Tournament where it earned the Judge’s Choice Award before going on to finish in second place in the Alliance Challenge, an event where it teamed with another program to complete assigned tasks.
Jonas said this is the first year they are involved with robotics for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
“Robotics is big in Hawai‘i,” he said. “According to robotevents.com, we are second in the nation behind (Washington) D.C. They have about 43 teams, Hawai‘i has 40 teams.”
Part of what makes robotics exciting is being able to travel to various places to compete, noting that Hawai‘i Tech Academy realized the value of the state competition and helped pay for two students who would otherwise not have been able to attend the competition.
Jonas said through the efforts of Art Kimura of Future Flight, there are now avenues for Hawai‘i teams to travel to Nagoya, Japan to compete in robotics.
The Kaua‘i FIRST Robotics Team, comprised of students from Island School, Kaua‘i, Kapa‘a and Waimea high schools, recently returned after traveling to Georgia to participate in the National FIRST Robotics Championships, earning the right to advance by successfully competing at the state level in late March.
“We’re having our mahalo get together before graduation,” said Charlene Steuri, one of the stalwart team parents whose two children are part of the Kaua‘i FIRST Robotics Team. “We’ve been so busy trying to get everything done, but we need to thank all the people who helped us before the graduation madness sets in.”
Mia Ako, who administers the robotics programs for the Kaua‘i Economic Development Board, was kept busy pulling lucky numbers and keeping an eye on the clock so the different teams could have their proper time on the Botball table set up for the event.
In late January, Gov. Linda Lingle authorized the use of $2.81 million in federal stimulus funds to enhance robotics education programs in Hawai‘i schools.
These funds, administered by the University of Hawai‘i College of Engineering through the Robotics Organizing Committee, will be used to purchase robotics kits and curriculum packages for schools, provide teacher workshops and professional development training as well as cover operating costs of competitive robotics events.
The Robotics Expo, the third being hosted by KEDB and Kukui Grove Center, is one such example that brings awareness of the six robotics programs that engage school students from a young age and progresses with the student as he or she advances.
The six programs include FIRST Robotics, FIRST Lego League, Botball, VEX, Underwater Remote Operating Vehicle and Micro Robotics.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
