A full out war took place at Englewood High School recently. There were punches thrown, words shouted, and damage done. But no actual person was injured in the course of this battle, students used hand-made robots to do the dirty work.

     Parker Montegna (10) and Michael Pellegrino (9) built a robot and took part in the Robot Wars. “It was fun, our robot placed twelfth out of nineteen. And it didn’t fall apart which is a success,” said Montagna. He said he and a partner built their robot in the TEC Fabrication Lab. They had to use power tools and know how each part worked before connecting the pieces. According to Montegna, what made the competition so great was that everyone was participating and having fun. He said they all stayed motivated and kept up their teamwork to make a well-functioning robot. They created a robot that could grab things such as corn and it could turn levers. It was an all day event on a recent Saturday.

     District STEM coordinator Bill Gilmore says the students who take part in this competition learn how to manage projects and time. They also learn how to work together and solve complex problems. Not only that but they learn how to write computer code and use the design cycle. They also learn how to build and test things like robots. “It’s a great way for students to learn things for their career and have a better job or go to better schools,” said Gilmore.