HEMPHILL, TX – As high school students from around East Texas embark on a simulated mission to the moon, a robotics competition is helping them explore interests in science and technology.
The 2nd Annual Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Robotics Competition, held on Friday, February 1 at the Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum ‘Remembering Columbia’ in Hemphill, aimed to honor the legacy of Columbia’s final mission.
Prior to the start of competition, teams of students from Hemphill and Huntington high schools took part in a memorial service marking the 16th anniversary of the 2003 shuttle tragedy in the skies over East Texas.
Under the direction of their team coaches, students used LEGO EV3 robotics kits to complete a simulated mission to explore the far side of the moon.
Built and programmed at the museum on the day of the competition, the robots were required to be autonomous and include the use of at least one sensor. Schools were allowed to bring additional supplies to construct their robots.
Teams demonstrated their robots for a panel of judges made up of NASA engineers and an astronaut, a mechanical engineer from Georgia Pacific, and museum board members.
Judges asked questions such as “What does your team anticipate seeing on the Moon?”, “How will you explore it and collect data?”, “How will you record the findings?”, and “How will you transmit the findings back to Earth?”.
Students shared their researched facts and the process of creating their final design.
Judges selected a team from Huntington High School as the overall winner.
All participants and their coaches received t-shirts, while the winning team from Huntington High School earned 10 tickets to visit Space Center Houston. The competition is sponsored through a grant from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation.
The Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum, which is open Tuesdays through Saturday, is located at 375 Sabine Street in Hemphill. Special tours may be arranged by appointment.
Learn more about the Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum ‘Remembering Columbia’ at www.NASAColumbiaMuseum.com.
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Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum 'Remembering Columbia' 