Students from the Maywood Middle School stopped a mock oil spill by putting the robots designed by them into action. The Maywood Robotics club has grown to a strength of seven students this year, hence was able to send two teams to participate in the marine advanced technology education remote operated vehicle competition, which was sponsored by the Marine Technology Society.
Robotic MMS Team demonstrate working of Robot
The students built the robot stirred by the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The aim of building the robot was to prevent oil spillage in the ocean. During the demonstration, the robot had to turn off an oil valve and go on to plug a leaking oil derrick. After this operation, the robots were directed towards artificial sea cucumbers, sponges, crabs and other plants for picking them and taking them away from the oil spill site. The students had put up posters, which gave a detailed explanation of the working of the robot. One of the students commented, that building the robot was the most challenging task in the whole project. The science teacher at the school extended her help by taking them to a swimming pool where they could test their project. They were also taken for touring the oceanography lab, where they could observe a giant robot in action. The students got their creative sides into action by using various articles like dustpan to enable the robot to perform the rescue operation more efficiently.
The spirit of working as a team and other skills like time management were also part of the learning curve for the students while working on the project. Financial assistance was provided by the Issaquah Schools Foundation and the Maywood Associated Study Body. The other club that participated in the competition was Beaver Lake Middle School’s robotics club.