High schools unite to create a robot
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers BUILDING THE PERFECT BEAST?- Robotics Club member Tom Ziccardi, center, a freshman at Westlake High School, is flanked by Newbury Park High School junior Michael Turner, left, and Cameron Saier, a Thousand Oaks High School freshman. The three are members of the club and are working together to solder wires on the panels of a future robot.

The metal shop at Thousand Oaks High School bustles every day after school with kids planning, programming and building. The group stays well into the evening and on Saturdays, too, with one goal in mind: building a robot with dexterity.

The Conejo Robotics Club is almost three weeks into a six-week challenge to construct a robot that will compete next month against the creations of 50 other Southern California schools.

After local schools had some trouble getting off to a good start individually, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake high schools came together to form one team more than 20 strong.

Abel Magana, metal shop instructor at TOHS, is one of the advisers for the club.

"I looked into it and thought, 'No biggie, we can build a robot,'" Magana said. "Once I saw everything we have to do, well, this is an enormous project."

What Magana means is that the actual construction of the robot is just step one. The competition consists of a game called Rack 'N Roll, in which the robot must somehow get small inflatable tubes hooked onto poles jutting from a giant rack in the center of a 27-by-54-foot arena.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization, which puts on the competition, provides some basic materials like the motor and some steel rods, but the design and strategy of the creature is left up to the kids. Whether the robot is a small, carlike machine that shoots the tubes onto the rack, or a 5foottall being with mechanical arms to place the tubes, it's up to the club.

"We spent about a week and a half with strategy and understanding the rules of the game," Magana said. "We just began the building (last week) and everyone is really excited."

Kimberly Zurian, a sophomore and TOHS soccer player, is the team's strategist and manager. She has the stiff responsibility of keeping the club members- mostly boys- in line and focused on the design and strategy goals.

"I make sure everyone keeps on track and is focusing on the things they should be doing," Kimberly said. "If we need parts, I order them, but I'm mostly busy trying to keep everyone on track."

The student leader, clearly respected by her peers in the metal shop, said she has confidence although the team may be a bit behind.

"I was hoping we'd be a bit more progressed, but it took a lot of time designing the arm," Kimberly said. "But once we decide what we're going to do, we have a good team, and we can definitely get it done."

Kelley Ziccardi, the club's funds coordinator and mom to Thomas Ziccardi, the sole Westlake member, said most of the kids come in without a lot of knowledge of robotics. The club relies on mentors from the community who want to keep their engineer skills sharp and help the students, she said.

Magana agreed.

"Those are the ones (the FIRST organization) wants, the students who dropped out of math or science because it was boring," Magana said. "You get them out of the classroom, they use their hands and make the connection between the skills and what you can do with them."

Evan Duerrstein, a junior, joined the club for fun as well as for the real-world experience.

"It's fun being in shop, and it's good experience and looks good on a college resume," said Evan, who's planning to attend a trade school in Long Beach or Los Angeles to learn welding. "The only welding in this project is really just when we re-create the arena (to practice for the competition), but I'm also really good with sheet metal."

Money is a big part of starting a club, which needs about $15,000 to $20,000 to run successfully, according to Ziccardi. So far, the Conejo Robotics Club has raised $11,000 through corporate sponsorship from Haas Automation and ITT Technical Institute.

The group isn't too concerned about being the best or taking home the gold at the televised regional competition, one of many taking place all over the world.

"It's not about winning; it's about inspiring," Magana said. "If you get the competition, that's great, but that follows the main goal of inspiring the kids."

And that goal seems to be embraced by many around the three high schools.

"It's a lot of time for six weeks," Ziccardi said. "We're talking teaching all day and then hours afterward for (the advisers). During the longer days, parents are rotating to bring meals, and people and volunteers have really stepped up."

The club members however, don't seem to mind the long hours.

"It's not really very hard to get them involved," Magana said. "They say, 'What, it's already 6 p.m.?' or 'It's already 8 p.m.?' They still want to stay."