Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Founders of the SHS Robotics Club include Jacob Christopherson (front) and (back, from left) Tina Hsu, Leo Wong and Stanley Hsu.
Members of new Robotics Club will enter national competition
By Leigh Ann Maze
A small idea that originated with a few students at Saratoga High School has grown into a big idea--the formation of a new club on campus, the Falcons Robotics Club.
Club members don't have to know much about engineering or robotics, as long as they have the desire to learn and the time and dedication needed for the club, said Stanley Hsu, 16, who is one of the club's founders along with fellow SHS junior Leo Wong, 16, and senior Jacob Christopherson, 18. The founders said they would accept about 20 to 35 members into the club.
The new Robotics Club will send a representative to the U.S. First Robotics Camp in New Hampshire to bring back a box of materials. The club will then spend six weeks building a robot to do a specific task. Hsu said in that six weeks the club members will need to plan to spend three to four hours per day working on the robot.
The club then plans to take their robot to compete at the regional robotics competition at San Jose State University in March. In late April, a national robotics competition will be held at EPCOT Center in Orlando, Fla.
About 500 high schools from around the world are expected to send students to compete in the international competition. Hsu said that schools from Brazil, Singapore and Canada have already signed up to participate. Last year's international competition was televised nationally on ESPN and Nickelodeon.
Hsu said that Wong had expressed interest in starting the club last school year, but the idea never took off. During summer school, however, Hsu met a Monte Vista High School student who was part of the robotics team there, and a friendship was formed. With that student's advice, Hsu approached Wong about trying to start the club up again. This time the momentum was strong enough.
The founders have been working through the summer, contacting organizations that might be able to provide mentors or funding, recruiting prospective team members, and promoting the club. The founders plan to send grant proposals to local companies, possibly even NASA.
"We will be training ourselves, hopefully, with the help of local engineers or corporations," Hsu said.
Before the start of school, SHS administration gave the team approval to be a campus club.
The club held its first meeting Sept. 6. But the students have a few more hurdles to clear before the club can be deemed a success. After recruiting enough members, the club needs to also recruit a few dedicated adult engineers to act as mentors. They also must find a permanent location at which to build their robot. Lastly, the club needs to raise funds, a whopping $15,000 minimum to participate in competitions.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
