This public television special showed in our area last week, but it is scheduled to show at various times at other locations throughout the United States during the month of September. You can see the promo at You Tube by clicking on the image below. If you get a chance, watch the entire program. It is well worth it to see how students do the seemingly impossible task they are given during a FIRST competition. The following excerpt from the Gearing Up website says it all:
“Gearing Up, a one-hour documentary produced by KETC St. Louis and STORY HOUSE PRODUCTIONS chronicles behind-the-scenes drama and excitement leading up to the 2008 FIRST Robotics National Competition.Teams receive identical robot kits with no instructions and have just six weeks to build a robot capable of performing specific tasks. We follow four teams in their regional competitions: Miss Daisy, a seasoned team from Ambler, Pennsylvania; RoboDoves, a small, all-girl rookie team from Baltimore, Maryland; Rambotics, a team of teenaged felons incarcerated at the Ridge View Academy correctional facility for boys in Watkins, Colorado; and Ratchet Rockers, a group of suburban kids from Wentzville, Missouri.”
Image Credit: KETC St. Louis and STORY HOUSE PRODUCTIONS
Six weeks. Identical kits. No instructions. All assembly required.
Will they succeed? Will they fail? Gearing Up details the triumphs and disasters high school students encounter while sharing ideas and solving technical challenges.
http://www.gearingupproject.org/