Published: March 2, 2022
After months of engineering and assembly by students, the robots finally rumbled. Months of high-level learning experiences culminated in the annual District 214 Robot Rumble, hosted February 25 and 26 by John Hersey High School.
Thirty-eight teams from 14 schools put their robots into one-on-one competition in a plexiglass arena. Students operated their robots via remote control. In each match, the last robot standing – or moving – advanced to the next round.
Teams from all six comprehensive schools in District 214 competed and were joined by teams from several other Northwest suburban high schools. When the dust cleared and the final robots had rumbled, the overall champion was an eight-student team from Rolling Meadows High School.
While similar events have long been part of the national scene, District 214 expanded opportunities for local students and spectators by launching its own version about a decade ago.
“It’s such a great showcase for student learning in our engineering and manufacturing classes,” said Dave Wietrzak, Career and Technical Education and Physical Education division head for Rolling Meadows High School. “This has been teacher-led from the beginning, as teachers at all of our schools saw benefits for students in long-term learning. It’s proven to be successful, as kids go on from this with skills that they take into college and that help get them jobs. It goes far beyond the competition.”
Competition follows a double-elimination bracket. Teams of students pit the robots they designed and built head to head in two divisions: one for bots weighing no more than 60 pounds and one for weapon-carrying robots weighing a maximum of 85 pounds. All batteries are the same and specifications, to ensure a level playing field.