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Electronics Club Hosts First Annual Blazer Bot Competition
By Courtney Simmons The Blaze
from Centralia Middle School. They attributed their victory to their original robot design, explaining that it only started the race at half speed and worked its way up to full power. Blazer Bot was not only fun, but also served as a fundraiser for the college’s Electronics
The second event was the Sumo Bot competition. Two robots were placed in opposite corners of a square platform, attempting to break the other robot or push them from the arena. Angel Ceritelli and Elijah Bailey from Washington Elementary took home first place for the Sumo Bot competition with the help of their robot Maximus. “We’re very proud of it,” Ceritelli said. “We’re happy that we won, but we’re also very happy that we learned a lot.” With the intent of making this experience an annual one, the Electronics Department took notes throughout the day on how to improve it. Dave Peterson, a Centralia College robotics professor, explained they wanted more teams to compete and even representatives from large robotics companies to attend. He said he would also like companies to sponsor teams so
“I thought it went spectacular. The kids had a lot of fun. We couldn’t have done it without the robotics team from Centralia College.” — Dan Garry, Washington Elementary robotics coach Department, which received all proceeds from concessions. Also participating was a representative of the college’s Media Club, who provided a projection screen to help onlookers stay on top of the action, and the robotics department provided a projector showing a competition flow chart.
prizes could be awarded. The final and most difficult event was the Search and Rescue Challenge. Robots had to follow a black line directly toward a wall and then successfully maneuver around it to the other side. They then had to retrieve a LEGO figurine and return it to the other side of the arena before their opponents. Centralia Middle School celebrated another victory with a robot named Bob 88, which won the Search and Rescue Challenge. Bob 88’s creators shared their victory with their entire robotics club, calling it a team accomplishment and stating they could not have won without the help of their team. The event concluded with an awards ceremony, during which the first- and secondplace teams from each event were rewarded with medals. Overall performance trophies were then awarded, with Centralia Middle School taking first, Washington Elementary second and the Shelton school group third.
CONNECTION
On Saturday, Mar. 26, the Centralia College Electronics Department hosted the first annual Blazer Bot, a robotics competition designed for local elementary and middle school students. The event, which took place in the Centralia College Health and Wellness Center, was a success, according to organizers. “I thought it went spectacular,” said Dan Garry, a robotics coach at Washington Elementary. “The kids had a lot of fun. We couldn’t have done it without the robotics team from Centralia College.” Washington Elementary, Oakview Elementary, Centralia Middle School, Olympic Middle School, Oakland Bay Junior High and Pioneer Middle School all participated in Blazer Bot. Students competed in teams of two and three, with the exception of a few solo engineers. Blazer Bot consisted of
three separate events. The specifications were simply that the robots be built from LEGO Mindstorm NXT sets, no larger than 12 inches in any direction (with the exception of the dragsters, which could be as long as their creators saw fit), and programmed to compete without being controlled. Each robot was equipped with a light sensor and programmed to stay inside the black tape designating the competition areas. The first event was the Drag Race. Once the signal was given to begin, two robots raced toward the finish line. Any robot that crossed the black tape designating its lane was automatically disqualified. The winner was not the first robot to cross the finish line, but the one to stop at or closest to it, proving their light sensor most effective. The Drag Race winner was a robot by the name of Walle, built by two students
Local middle school students compete at the first annual Blazer Bot competition in the Centralia College Health and Wellness Center on Saturday, March 26. Students and their robots competed in three events: drag racing, sumo bot and search and rescue.
BELIZE ADVENTURE
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Photos by Sean Wills / The Blaze
A middle school student claps to start his robot competing in the Sumo Bot event of Blazer Bot, where competitor’s robots faced off in an attempt to push the other one outside the black tape boundary.
34 Colleges, 30 Districts,
One Capitol Event
By Hallie Simons The Blaze
A hundred Washington state legislators attended the Community and Technical College Open House in the Columbia Room at the state Capitol building in Olympia on Thursday, March 21. The mission of the night was to promote “education and training for the real world.” Across Washington, there are 34 community and technical colleges. Nine of them, including Centralia College, brought displays to help legislators to learn more about the exciting things each college is doing. Members of the boards of trustees for each college, presidents, vice presidents and college staff were all present to help showcase to the legislators how important low-cost schools are to the communities
and to showcase some of the innovative things each college is doing. Some brought student-engineered robots, others handmade wines and food. One college brought a machine that can carve any design out of metal. The theme of the night, however, was that everything was student driven. For students, by students: improving the quality of education in communities one student at a time. “For some students, a fouryear is a good option, they know exactly what they want to do. But for the majority of students, a community college is safer mentally. They can try out so many options,” said Linda Cowan, a trustee from Green River Community College. The event was sponsored by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, the Trustees Association of Com-
munity and Technical Colleges and the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges. Marty Brown, executive director for Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, was thrilled by the event and by the hopeful mission of the community colleges to provide quality, lowcost education to everyone. “I love the mission, I love the fact that it can change lives. What a great event. I’m proud of the schools and the staff that put it on. A lot of legislators turned out,” said Brown. Jan Yoshiwara, deputy executive director for education services, agreed with Brown. “I love how much difference community colleges can make in people’s lives, and I’ve seen that time and again,” he said. “We make a difference in thousands of people’s lives every year.”
See Belize Photos Online
Inslee Greets Academic TEAM
Photo by Sean Wills / The Blaze
Students, student government and members of the college faculty gathered to discuss the possibility of Centralia College becoming a smoke-free campus. The purpose of the meeting was simply to gather information on the general opinion of the idea, not to make a decision. College President Dr. James Walton and Steve Ward, Vice-President of Finance and Admisinstration, were present to answer questions on what the proposed policy change would entail.
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