Signal Mountain High School student Jacob Dunn, left, is aided by Fred Sumrall while participating in a robotics showcase at TVA in downtown Chattanooga on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.The Tennessee Valley Authority's Lookout building was transformed into a hive of learning and innovation Wednesday as more than 20 teams of students from across the region operated their robotic creations at the eighth TVA Partners in Education Schools Robotics Showcase.
Elementary and middle school student teams crowded around tables in the first floor atrium to direct their pre-programmed Lego robots to perform a designated series of tasks, including opening a doorway, picking up a basket, and turning a lever 90 degrees.
Nolan Elementary School fifth-graders Kale Dodson and Aiden Adkins were excited to participate in their first "First Lego League" showcase. They said they enjoyed getting to apply the science, technology, engineering and mathematics standards they've been learning to a creative, tangible project. Dodson said programming for just one of the tasks could take up to five weeks.
"We had to figure out how to use sensors and calculate for speed," Dodson said.
"We had to do a lot of measuring," Adkins agreed.
Their robot performed well, they said, but had some trouble with the lever task.
CSLA 6th grade student Lily Rosenow participates in a robotics showcase at TVA in downtown Chattanooga on Wednesday, May 13, 2015."The way we built it was different from what they had here," Adkins said.
The program started somewhat by chance back in 2004 when TVA economist Charlie Spencer took a tour of his new neighbor, the then-new Battle Academy. Spencer was struck by the school's need for in-class resources, and sitting in on a robotics lesson in teacher Jamelie Johns' class, he had an idea. Spencer went back to TVA and rallied employees to participate in volunteer activities to raise money to fund extracurricular robotics programs in Hamilton County Schools. Over the last 10 years, TVA employees have raised $3.5 million for the program, which has expanded to include schools from other counties in the region, including Walker and Jackson counties.
Spencer said that the students' enthusiasm for robotics and engineering has fueled the program's exponential growth, spilling over to parents, teachers and administrators.
"Any educational program that students love, common sense kicks in," Spencer said. "It mushrooms over time."
Spencer said one of the best aspects of the program is that many of the students don't even realize they're learning. He said it's the practical application of what they're learning in the classroom.
"It's learning by default," Spencer said. "They're learning programming, problem solving and teamwork. A lot of engineering is trial and error, knowledge and perseverance."
On the third floor, the high school students showed off their large "floor robots" in the "First Remote Challenge" showcase. The robots, which looked like skeletal forklifts, pssshhhed as pneumatic pistons released compressed gas to deploy metal arms to grab plastic containers and stack them on top of each other.
STEM School 9th grader Ethan Rosenow, who participated in the First Lego League the last few years, said the First Remote Challenge was a whole new ballgame.
"FLL's a good starter, it teaches you how to code, but [the Remote Challenge is] more intricate," he said. "These are full-sized robots with electrical systems."
Contact Will Healey at whealey@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.
Abby Dean, a 5th grade student at Stone Creek Elementary participates in a robotics showcase at TVA in downtown Chattanooga on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.