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Parker’s Upper School R.O.V. Team Makes a Splash at Morning Ex!
On Wednesday, the Parker community met at Morning Ex to listen, learn about and support the new Upper School robotics team, ROV Team 2018. The team’s focus is building a competitive Remotely Operated Vehicle; however, this ROV has to operate and compete while completely underwater! With a successful build, the team hopes to compete in the 2018 MATE Shedd Aquarium Midwest Regional ROV Competition.
The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center created this competition to encourage concentration in STEM fields through the use of marine technology, potentially creating an interest in fields using this underwater technology and workers with the appropriate education to fill future needs. At this challenge, students will have three tasks to complete, all with varying levels of difficulty: they have to locate the “wreckage” of a vintage aircraft and return its engine to the surface, install or recover a seismometer and install a tidal turbine and the instrumentation to monitor the surrounding environment.
The Morning Ex introduced the audience to the team and provided background on the nature of ROVs and this competition. ROV Team 2018 then explained some of the technical aspects behind the robot and the tasks they needed to complete. Next, the students described the design process in brainstorming, building and reflecting on their ROV. Finally, the students shared their reasons for taking part in this club and encouraged others to participate.
This competition falls right in line with Parker’s ethos, and we are proud of our students for participating. The MATE Center describes this competition as “designed to be an event that challenges students to apply the physics, math, electronics and engineering skills they are learning in the classroom to solving problems from the marine workplace.” The Center also highlights how students should be their own advocates for learning, saying students are “encouraged to focus on the benefits of the learning process and not simply on ‘winning’ the competition.”
Don’t miss your chance to support this team as they compete at Northeastern Illinois University’s Physical Education Complex on Saturday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.!
Francis W. Parker School educates students to think and act with empathy, courage and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a diverse democratic society and global community.