Oshkosh schools gear up for robotics competition next year

Branson, a design engineer, spoke to the Oshkosh school board Wednesday night about his experiences with the FIRST Robotics competition, which will be established in Oshkosh in the 2008-09 school year. FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is aimed at piquing high school students' interest in science and technology.

The program will draw high school students from public and private schools within Oshkosh and connect them with mentors in the community with the goal of building a robot and competing against other community high school students from around the country.

Garth Larson, dean of students at Webster Stanley Middle School, refers to the program as a "varsity sport that is more of a mental sport."

"It challenges a team of students and mentors to build a robot," he said.

The program is scheduled to begin in January. Students will have six weeks to build a robot to send to a regional competition where the team will be judged based on the robot's design, team spirit, professionalism and maturity.

One robotics team will be established for the 2008-09 school year with the hope of going to two teams the following year.

The student participants will work with mentors from local businesses like Oshkosh Corp., CR Meyer, Triangle Manufacturing Co., Sadoff & Rudoy Industries, Blue Door Consulting, MarquipWard United and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

"When I came to Oshkosh two and a half years ago I was surprised that Oshkosh didn't have a program like this," Komal Mehta, of Triangle Manufacturing said. "This is a very exciting program."

Students from the Appleton area participate in the FIRST Robotics competition annually, which is where Branson had the opportunity to get involved as a high school student in 2000, he said. Students from Fond du Lac also participate.