This year, the Modern American School STEM Club made its first international appearance at the RobotChallenge, a major international robotics competition located in Vienna, Austria. This trip was a groundbreaking event for multiple reasons. Not only was this the first time that our STEM Club competed, but it was also the first time ever that Jordan was represented in this reputable competition. After many months of hard work and preparation, our MAS Stem club represented Jordan well.
In September of this year, the group with its appointed leaders came together with a plan for completion. One section of the group began its construction of a fighting robot, or “MASBOT”, constructed fully from Lego pieces. The purpose of this robot was to push a competitor robot out of a ring, as in a Sumo fight. A second section of the group made plans for the flying robot, “Shodan”, constructed from scratch with uniquely designed metallic and 3D-printed parts. The purpose of this robot was to improve speed and precision of flying machines. Both sections worked regularly in the STEM room during break time and on nights and weekends in order to perfect the design and programming that made their robots fight or fly. Their efforts were great, as many pieces and parts had to be specially made or shipped in from different places throughout the world. The results were two fully functioning, advanced robots.
The group arrived at competition to be greeted by other students and advanced engineers from around the world. They learned from the experts, discussed with their peers, and experienced a few victories. Overall, the group became much stronger engineers and were inspired with great ideas and strategies for next year’s competition. If you were lucky, you may have heard a couple of our members being interviewed on the Austrian and Jordanian radios about their accomplishments. If you were not lucky this time, you will have many more chances to hear from this group, as they continue to grow as engineers and make us proud.
Dr. Kimberly Blahnik
Chair of Science Department &
STEM Club Director
