Lt. Governor James “Duke” Aiona will host a community rally on Kaua‘i next week to cheer on robotics teams from Waimea High School and Island School that will compete in the Inaugural 2008 NASA/BAE Systems FIRST in Hawai‘i Regional Robotics
Lt. Governor James “Duke” Aiona will host a community rally on Kaua‘i next week to cheer on robotics teams from Waimea High School and Island School that will compete in the Inaugural 2008 NASA/BAE Systems FIRST in Hawai‘i Regional Robotics Competition, March 27 through March 29, at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa campus.
The public is encouraged to attend the rally in Lihu‘e and show their support for the two teams that will represent West Hawai‘i in the regional competition in Honolulu.
The rally on Kaua‘i is set for Tuesday, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall.
The two Kaua‘i teams, one from Waimea High School and the other from Island School, have differing ideas and strategies when they unveil their respective projects at the inaugural FIRST competition, March 27.
Mary Lu Kelley of Oceanit, one of the mentors with the Waimea team, said the idea of getting robotics into the high school program is just the first step toward a year-round program of robotics for students in all levels of school.
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common engineering problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard kit of parts. Working with mentors, and using their academic skills in science, technology, engineering and math fields, as well as innovation, ingenuity, teamwork and communication, the teams designed and built robots from the parts and will put their robots to the test in the regional competition.
The Lingle-Aiona Administration is supporting robotics as a key component of the Hawai‘i Innovation Initiative to engage Hawai‘i students in STEM education and to foster the innovation capacity in Hawai‘i residents.
Waimea High School has 16 student members on its team with 25 mentors representing not only Oceanit, but from Pioneer Hi-bred and the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana.
Working with a budget in the neighborhood of $20,000, Kelley’s task was to secure funding for the upcoming competition. Grants were secured from NASA, Aloha ‘Ike administered by the Kaua‘i Economic Development Board, Oceanit, DBEDT, Young Brothers Community Advisory Board and CSC.
Additionally, Kelley said the team has been involved in several community projects to bring awareness to the program as well as generate funds for the trip. The Waimea FIRST Robotics team will be cleaning up trash Thursday in preparation for the Waimea Town Celebration which starts Friday afternoon.
Similarly, Island School’s team of a dozen students and mentors from Hotwire Hawai‘i and the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, has also secured sponsorships from the Aloha ‘Ike program at KEDB and several other grants, James said, noting that the school depicted on YouTube probably had a budget close to $100,000 and working in near-ideal shop conditions.
The Waimea High and Island School robotics teams are the first two teams from Kaua‘i to ever participate in a FIRST robotics competition. They will compete against 35 other teams from Hawai‘i, California, Florida, New Jersey and West Virginia. The winners of the Hawai‘i regional will advance to the championship, April 16-19, in Atlanta.
• For additional information, visit the FIRST in Hawai‘i Regional Robotics Competition Web site at www.robotics.hawaii.gov
Want to cheer them on?
• Join Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. as he rallies support for the Waimea High and Island School robotics teams.
WHAT: Lt. Governor Aiona will host a community rally to cheer on robotics teams from Waimea High School and Island School who will compete in the Inaugural 2008 NASA/BAE Systems FIRST in Hawai‘i Regional Robotics Competition, March 27n29, at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai‘i at Ma¯noa campus. The public is encouraged to attend the rally and show their support for the two teams that will represent West Hawai‘i in the regional competition in Honolulu.
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., this Tuesday, March 25
WHERE: Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall, Lihu‘e
