The newest edition to Lincoln Way Central’s extensive list of activities is Robotics Club! This is open to any student who has a passion to learn about robotic programming and basic engineering. The club leader is Lincoln-Way Central’s very own Physics teacher, Mr. Drumheller. Students are currently working with activitybot robot kits that they can program through a program called BlocklyProp. This program allows students to learn how to program with blocks of codes and commands instead of simply typing out the code- which is especially helpful for beginners.

Mr. Drumheller is hoping to get more of the student body involved and to help raise funding so he can purchase more advanced equipment for the students in the club. I am actually a part of this club, which is held after school every Wednesday in Mr. Drumheller’s room found in B-wing. Recently, me and my friends have been working with navigation for the robot,  adding sonar and touch sensors to the activitybot so it can navigate though obstacle courses.

Mr. Drumheller always has new ideas and different pieces of advice for the students. A couple of weeks ago, he showed us some electronic ID badges that could communicate with each other and how they could very well be the future for the exchange of contact information. Upon speaking with him he gushed: “I am very proud of the work these kids have done so far, they are all very bright and I’m excited to start getting us involved in robotics competitions in the spring”

Right now the club is looking for more members; many kids don’t know about the club or are worried they won’t know what to do. I want to calm the fears of anyone who might be interested and say that I didn’t know much about programming when I joined, but by experimenting and jumping in, I have already learned so much. Anyone who feels like engineering might be something  they are interested in should stop by and check it out! This club is brand new and needs momentum from new members to get moving. In coming years we hope to attend more competitions and create a website. I feel it is important that Lincoln-Way keeps this club running to inspire a new generation of engineers. It offers team-building experiences and pushes students to put their creativity to work.

Hope to see you after Christmas Break at our weekly Wednesday meetings!