VEX Robotics Changed Mindset
user390442
Entry ID #: 367
Created: Tue, Dec 27, 2011 6:42 PM
“Robotics? Get real,” I thought. My vision of a robotics team was the typical group of nerds. You know, the ones who are always talking with fancy words about how smart they are. My mom prodded me to go to one meeting to see what it was actually like. I agreed, barely. It was nothing like what I expected. Everyone was actually really nice and it was fascinating to see what they were designing. That first meeting I helped build a prototype robot, a dinky little thing, but it was oddly very exciting. The first competition I went to was even more thrilling. Everyone had robots designed for the same challenge. Even more then that, everyone was having a blast. I never dreamed that robotics could be so exhilarating or fun. This is my second year in robotics, and this year I am learning programming. Even programming is interesting. It is challenging to run your program through tests on the robot, but there is a real sense of satisfaction when you finally get it right. VEX has really helped me see engineering in a new light. It really is not a bunch of nerds huddled over a computer. Instead, it’s a group of kids trying to design a new way of accomplishing a goal – and having fun at the same time.
