Held after school every Wednesday and Friday, the Robotics club has always been a highlight of West High. For those who are unfamiliar with it, this club allows students to get together, craft functional robots from scratch and program them to perform simple tasks, like stacking cubes.

Every month or so, a tournament is held to showcase the abilities of robots programmed by members of the club. The game this year is called “Tower Takeover”. In these tournaments, participants must test their robots’ skills by having them take cubes spread throughout a large arena and claim them for points. They can either take cubes and push them into their goal for a maximum of three points, or stack as many cubes as possible, forming a tower to gain even more. Though challenging, it immerses its members and motivates them to want to win.

Robotics isn’t just about tournaments. It’s also about traveling and seeing places you never dreamed of. Club president, senior Jamey Farin, states that the community is what makes Robotics important, as he believes the club allows students to spend time with friends and be productive. He also believes that it allows you to contribute to making a long term project that you can be proud of.

“Do your research,” Farin states. “Look at what other teams have built, and what other teams have done.”

Club vice president, Senior Qudsi Aljabiri, states that Robotics is important because of the opportunities it offers, as it allows you to meet different people all over the state just by attending tournaments.

Although importance varies, the club members all share the same goal: the VEX Robotics World Championship.

Mr. Moehnke, who has been club advisor for roughly ten years, states that the club helps students learn real-world skills, such as mechanics, programming and engineering. He believes that the club is good training for those who are already interested in engineering.

“Try it, you’ll like it!” he says.

If you like building, competition, technology and coding, then you’ll surely like robotics!