Wanted: Robot Factory (Barn Will Do)

Cosumnes Oaks High's has talented mentors, corporate sponsors and enough fun challenges to keep brainy kids occupied for hours. But what they don't have, due to a quirk in the Elk Grove Unified School District's facilities rules, is a place to build their giant 'bots in time for this spring's competition. Team leader Jack Covert wrote to Elk Grove Patch for help. Here's his message. If you've got a barn or warehouse to spare, see below for his contact information. And check out of the team in action.

Wolfpack Robotics is an engineering team that designs and builds robots to compete at international competitions.  Every year the team is given a new game to play and each team designs and builds a robot to play in it. The robots we build are large and complex. Last year's game was to pick up different shaped inner-tubes and place them on a vertical grid of pegs that were three to 10 feet in the air. Then we had to build a small robot that the mail robot would deploy to a ten foot vertical pole and race to the top. Last year was our rookie year and we did pretty well. We were the highest seeded rookies, won the coolest rookie award and were finalists in the regional competition which had 54 teams from as far away as Idaho and Texas.

This year we seem to have hit a snag with the school district. We are being told that there must be a credentialed teacher on-site at all times when the team is meeting, and we can't find enough teachers willing to sit with us. We have had a few very generous teachers volunteer to sit with us, which we really appreciate (thank you!). And our principal, Mr. McDougall, has been working really hard to get the district to find a way for us to continue on, including treating the mentors as coaches. But as thankful as we are, we don't seem to be getting anywhere with the school district and the 150 hours the teachers have signed up for aren't enough to build a competitive robot (last year, over our six-week build season, we met for about 240 hours).

We have 25 students (1/3 of which are female) that, in addition to their classes, band, and sports, are eager to come to school and learn/work an additional 40 hours per week. When is the last time you heard a student excited to come to school and learn? We also have six mentors (two mechanical engineers, an electrical engineer, a software engineer, a chemist and a mechanic) from the community that give up six weeks of their lives to teach the students. The team is independently funded thanks to student grant-writers who secured funding from local businesses like Nissan of Elk Grove and other businesses like Google, Northrop Grumman and Intuitive Surgical. We will also be insured once we join the Boosters.

The only thing we are missing is a facility—a warehouse, shop space or a nice old barn where we can meet and build our robot. We have all of the tools and equipment required; we just need four walls and a roof over our heads. We are hoping somebody in the community will read this article and allow us to use their facility from now through the end of March. Will you help us inspire and educate the leaders of tomorrow? The people that might find the cure to cancer, develop a new clean energy source or maybe just create the next Facebook? If you are able to help us, please contact Jack Covert at jack.covert@wolfpackrobotics.org or by phone at 916-949-9626. Thank you.