The Oak Park Education Foundation's 7th annual Vex Robotics competition between Julian & Brooks students on January 28 was an amazing display of middle school engineering talent. More than 80 sixth-eight graders worked with teachers, volunteer engineers, and high school mentors after school for months to design, build and program inventive robots that showed their stuff on a playing field at the Julian gym in front of a packed house of cheering fans, friends and family.

This year Julian took back the trophy from Brooks in a 319-95 win. But they're not finished -- five teams from each middle school are still preparing for a regional competition in Batavia on February 11 to compete against area teams, most of them high schoolers.

During the Robotics competition, OPEF also held our first Open House showcasing all our programs: Architecture Adventure, Art Start, Science Alliance, Geared Up, Vex Robotics and BASE Camp. The Julian Commons was full of parents and kids, ages 5-12, trying their hands at challenging, educational and fun activities. Kids operated Vex Robots, build pocket totem sculptures, designed LEGO machines and created innovative buildings of LEGOs, experimented with water, rocks and electricity with EPA scientists, and created Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired window designs.

Thanks to all who participated, supported, attended, or followed us on Twitter, including our event sponsors: Aria Group Architects, Forest Park National Bank, Hoy Landscaping, It's A Sign, and Starship Restaurant & Catering.

Make sure to check out our slideshow of photos from the Vex Competition and Open House from photographers Maria Soderburg and Paul Goyette.



 

The Oak Park Education Foundation's (OPEF's) 7th annual Vex Robotics competition between Julian & Brooks students, who have been designing, building and programming their robots since October, will take place at 9:00 am on Saturday, January 28 in the Julian gym, 416 S. Ridgeland in Oak Park.

During the Robotics competition, OPEF is also holding an Open House showcasing its art, science, architecture and engineering programs in the Julian Commons from 10-noon. It's free and features hands-on projects for kids ages 5-12.

The Vex Robotics competition involves more than 80 middle school students, who work with teachers, volunteer engineers, and high school mentors after school for months to build and program robots that will score points on a playing field in the gym on January 28. The most successful teams will advance to a regional competition and compete against other teams, most of them high schoolers.

The Open House in the Julian Commons is a great place for young Robotics fans to take a break and try their hand at some challenging, educational and fun activities. They can design and build with LEGOs, experiment with EPA scientists, build a pocket totem sculpture, create Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired window designs, and operate a Vex Robot.

The gym will be filled with cheering onlookers. OPEF will have a projection screen for great viewing, an emcee and DJ, food for sale, and hands-on projects for kids at the Open House. Thanks to our event sponsors: Aria Group Architects, Forest Park National Bank, Hoy Landscaping, It's A Sign, and Starship Restaurant & Catering.

Follow the competition on Twitter.



 

For more information on the program and links for participating families, please visit our Vex Robotics page.



  UPDATE: The photos sets linked below have all been updated with new photos from week four of BASE Camp. Check them out! (7/5/11)

Our Vex Robotics kids (entering 6th-7th grade) custom designed, built and programmed robots to meet a variety of challenges in the form of different games. They built a variety of bots, working in teams, and put on a great show for parents, guardians, siblings and friends at the final competition on June 30!

The Fibonacci Mural group (entering 6th-8th grade) learned and mapped the golden ratio, and then designed and painted a mural under the "L" tracks between North and South Boulevards where Forest Ave. meets Home Ave. On June 13, they took a field trip to get inspiration from many fabulous murals in Humboldt Park. On June 24, they hosted a reception to celebrate their fine work.

Our Architecture Adventurers (students entering 4th-6th grade) designed buildings and made models, with help from professional architects and high school student TAs. They also worked with Google Sketch Up to create 3D virtual models.

The Dissection: Comparative Anatomy and Medical Illustration class (for kids entering 5th-8th grade) spent 2 weeks dissecting specimens from chicken wings to fetal pigs to learn about human anatomy. They spent a day working with Pat Thomas, Board Certified Medical Illustrator and Oak Parker who explained the how and why of her trade and helped students with their illustrations.

Geared Up: Engineering with LEGOs campers (entering 3rd-5th grade) took on new challenges every week -- from structures to wind power, animals to vehicles. They experimented with motors and remote controls, tested their machines and made them better and better.

In Art Start: Arts Adventure, our youngest campers (entering 1st-2nd grade) spent 2 weeks exploring many of the arts, including theater, story, dance, music, and painting.

They presented the fruits of their labor, including an elaborate set, costumes and books made mainly from found materials, to parents and friends on June 24.

In Geared Up/Architecture Adventure: Engineering with LEGOs (for students entering 1st-2nd grade), kids built the White House, Willis Tower, Wrigley Field, Seattle Space Needle, the Grand Canyon and more. They learned about geography, history and architecture while creating very impressive models!

The last week of camp included Art Start: Maps of the Imagination (for kids entering 3rd-5th grade). The kids used painting, drawing, and printmaking to create unique versions of their own mind-boggling mind maps.



 

Ian Parks (standing 2nd from left), Jesse Cornman (standing 3rd from left) and Luisa Vasquez (seated, right) are former members of -- and current mentors to -- the OPEF Vex Robotics Program. Bob Parks (center, standing) is a founding Vex Robotics team leader.

Three Vex Robotics alumni and current OPRFHS robotics club team members Jesse Cornman, Ian Parks, and Luisa Vasquez took 1st place in the Engineering category at the April 15 Illinois State University Research Symposium in Normal, IL. Their entry, built from scratch, was titled "A Robotic Arm with Myoelectric Control", enabling manipulation by thought. That same weekend, the team took first place at the Percy Julian Science Symposium over 48 high quality entrants in both pure and applied science.

Click here to see the video.



 

Click here to read about the competition, see photos and read a poem about the Vex Robotics club by one of our participants!



  Click here to read Kit Kadlec's story with a cool video about the Vex program and competition.



 

The Oak Park Education Foundation's 6th annual Vex Robotics competition was a thrilling event! The Julian gym was packed with cheering friends, fans, parents and siblings. Julian took the lead early on; then Brooks pulled from behind to win 152-116.

The 6th, 7th and 8th grade participants designed, built and programmed a wide variety of clever robots that picked up rings and place them on fixed and movable goal posts on the competition playing field. Six teams from each school will advance to a regional competition in Batavia on Saturday, February 12.

Many thanks to Event Director Mary Beth Hausken, Vex Program Coordinator Mark Pickus, Team leaders Tim Walsh, Jason Morrell, Jason Madel and Bob Woodlock, Judge Marc Couture, Emcee Jim Gates, Technical Director Josh Prisching, Video Equipment provider Rob Kowalski, Video Producers Rich Hillengas and Mary Jaime, Photographers Paul Goyette and David Kindler, Scorekeeper Mike Farrar, Scoreboard Operator Kevin Berger, Competition Cafe Managers Dee Goldman and Mary Mitrovich, and Team Mentors Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin, Jess Cornman, Matt Couture, Dee Goldman, Jake Ellenbogen, Lucas Firpo, Sergio Firpo, Habiba, Sam Hanson, Mary Beth Hausken, Kandiah Kanagandram, Rachel Kolodziej, Seth Larson, Elliot Mertz, Bob Parks, Ian Parks, Nighet Razvi, Denis Roarty, Curtis Sell, Woody Skinkle, Leah Sacks, Yulia Semibratova, Sully Stewart, Alanna Sullivan, Luisa Vasquez, Milos Zefran.

Thanks also to our sponsor, Aria Group Architects, Inc.

Click here to see photos from the competition from Oak Park photographers David Kindler and Paul Goyette.



 

You don't want to miss this exciting competition between Julian & Brooks students, who have been designing, building and programming their robots since October! The 6th annual middle school Vex Robotics Competition will take place at 9:00 am on Saturday, February 5, at the Julian gym, 416 S. Ridgeland in Oak Park.

This year's competition, called "Round Up," is a game that challenges robots to move plastic tubes onto goal posts, and to climb a ladder in the center of the field. This is the first year that District 97 students are participating in the official Vex competition, so that students who do well in the District 97 event can go on to compete in a regional competition the following weekend.

Round Up will include short competitions between remote-controlled robots as well as rounds featuring robots that operate autonomously.

OPEF's Vex Robotics program is open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students at both Julian and Brooks -- no experience required. They work closely with teachers as well as professional engineers and other adults who volunteer their time and expertise to help them think and build like engineers.

Come one, come all, and bring the kids! The gym will be filled with cheering onlookers. The event will feature a projection screen for great viewing, an emcee and DJ, food for sale, and Rosie the $4 million telemedicine robot from Gottlieb Memorial Hospital on display.

Click here to see Oak Park photographer David Kindler's photos of the Brooks team getting ready for the big event.

Special thanks to our event sponsor, Aria Group Architects.



 

"You have five more minutes for chewing," announced Mr. Tim Walsh. The snacks ended and the teams' bins came out: it was time to hunker down and build robots. Vex Robotics at Julian had commenced and the students were all business.

OPEF's Vex Robotics program, now in its 6th year, gives students at both Julian and Brooks Middle Schools the opportunity to design, build, and program their own robots in teams and then to compete to test their mettle. Mr. Walsh, Julian science teacher, is the Vex Robotics team leader at Julian, along with colleague Jason Morrell. Mr. Walsh reminded the students of their task: "We take plastic and metal and bring our ingenuity to them to bring them to life."

Christopher B. agreed. "I like the feeling of building robots. It's like another person: it has a brain, arms, and wheels for legs." Conor J., his teammate, was working on a scoop mechanism for their robot. Also on this team is Jacob I., a 7th grader who has returned for his second year of Vex. He came back because "it's fun to figure out how to put things together and communicate with each other on how we are going to do this."

Tony C., a Julian 6th grader, said he joined the robotics club because he "likes building stuff." He added, "My Granddad and me build things together, and I wanted to do more activities at school, not just homework, to keep me active."

On this Wednesday afternoon, Tony and his teammates were excited since they finally had the motors working on their robot and were now working on the arm and the wheels. His teammate Mardy H. said the most challenging aspect for her so far has been how to get that arm to move--to extend and to move up and down. When these students compete against their Brooks counterparts in February, their robots will, via remote control, maneuver around a course, pick up plastic donuts, and place the donuts on posts scattered around the course. So, getting that robotic arm to move smoothly and accurately is key.

Another teammate, Mitchell P., says he has been working on programming for the remote control, which he said has been the most challenging task so far. Shirong L., also on this team, is new to Julian and to the United States, and is excited to be able to participate in a club like Vex Robotics.

Volunteer Mike Farrar said his oldest daughter did Vex while at Julian. "I am amazed at what kids can engineer. We give them a bunch of parts and they gotta start thinking."

Sam H., a freshman at OPRF and a Vex veteran, comes back to help out with the club at Julian. "Helping people do something I like motivates me to do what it was I was doing during the two years I was here," he said. Mr. Walsh emphasized to the current middle schoolers that these high school mentors know the "dos and don'ts" of building these robots and that it's important to listen to their advice.

Julian and Brooks will face off in the annual Vex Robotics competition on February 5, 2011 in the Julian gym. The competition will consist of an autonomous round, in which the robots are preprogrammed to navigate the course, and a remote-control round.

Click here to see Oak Park photographer David Kindler's photos of the Julian team preparing for the competition



 

Click here to see photos of our Vex Robotics BASE Camp, featured in the July 7, 2010 Wednesday Journal.



 

It's been a fun and productive camp experience for more than 100 kids, ages 7-12, who attended OPEF's first BASE Camp this June. Check out our pictures of:

• Architecture Adventure students constructing a miniature city and exploring architectural landmarks from around the world. They worked with professional architects and their tools, creating a mind-blowing city using 3D models, and learning Google Sketch Up design.
• Vex Robotics students designing, building and programming remote-controlled robots from scratch, with help from their teachers and some high school mentors. They held 2 scrimmages to compete and test the various skills of the bots they created.
• Geared Up students designing and building machines that work (like a cart, a clock, a windmill and a robotic dog) using Lego Motorized Mechanisms kits. They faced numerous design challenges, tested their models and improved them as they went. The students also designed and created bridges to see how much weight they could support.

Congrats to all our impressive BASE Campers! It was great to work with you.

Photos are by Oak Park photographer Paul Goyette.

UPDATE: You can see more pictures from BASE Camp's Architecture Adventure program here. Thanks to Oak Park Photographer David Kindler.

 

Judy Hsu did a great 4-minute story about the Oak Park Education Foundation's Vex Robotics program on her Channel 7 news show, on the morning of March 15. Click here to watch some of our fabulous students, teacher and volunteers in action.

 

The Oak Park Education Foundation hosted "Sponge
Ball Bonanza," an exciting competition showcasing the talents of Julian
and Brooks middle school students. The 6th, 7th and 8th graders, both
boys and girls, were guided by volunteer engineers, high school mentors
and teachers. Working in teams, they designed, built and programmed
robots that scored points by moving sponge balls into targets of
varying degrees of difficulty.

The Brooks gym was filled to capacity with friends and family
cheering on the 80 student designers. Junior varsity teams built robots
that operated by remote control, while varsity students programmed
their bots to operate autonomously, using sensors. Julian emerged
victorious, but all agreed that they had gained valuable experience not
only in making robots, but also in connecting with adult engineers and
learning how they work, and solving problems while working in teams.

Click here to see a slideshow of photos courtesy of Alec Bloyd-Peshkin.

 

An evening of exciting competition will get underway when robots take center stage in the 5th annual Brooks vs. Julian Vex Robotics competition. The event takes place on Wednesday February 24th at 7 pm in the Brooks Middle School gymnasium, 325 S. Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park. You are cordially invited!

OPEF's after-school Vex Robotics teams are open to all District 97 middle school students. Young inventors control the design, performance and functionality of their robots, including the ability to program them to perform tasks by remote control or autonomously. This year, we've attracted a diverse group of 80 students who will compete in a challenge called the "Sponge Ball Bonanza." Students construct robots that collect sponge balls that must be lifted and delivered to a variety of difficult scoring targets. One is a tricky limbo bar that the robots must pass. Another target is completely hidden from view, requiring the use of sensors and programming to score.

Please come -- and bring the kids!

 

This year's Vex Robotics competition results: Brooks won the Uber Tuber Challenge, while Julian prevailed in the Ping Pong Fling. Click on the photo above to see a slideshow of photos from the event by Oak Park photographer Cindy Trim.



 

Everyone is welcome at the exciting Vex Robotics competition, Julian vs. Brooks, on Wednesday, February 11, 7 pm in the Julian gym, 416 S. Ridgeland in Oak Park.

Watch teams compete with robots designed, built and programmed by middle school students. Junior Varsity teams and their remote-controlled bots will take on the Uber Tube Challenge, while Varsity teams have programmed their bots to score autonomously in the Ping Pong Fling. See the innovative designs students have devised for their robots to complete these tasks!



 

Come one, come all to the Vex Robotics competition of Julian vs. Brooks! Watch teams compete with robots designed, built, programmed and controlled by students.

The competition will take place on Thursday, April 3, 7 pm in the Brooks gym, 325 S. Kenilworth. The teams have built 10' x 14' playing fields on which to maneuver their robots to score points in various ways, including placing marbles and plastic eggs on a balance scale. Students have devised innovative ways for their robots to complete these tasks.

Vex Robotics is funded by the Oak Park Education Foundation, with support from the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation.

 

[from the fall 2007 issue of OPEF's newsletter, Take Note]

This year, the Oak Park Education is bringing more experts than ever into classrooms to work with students! Our programs are growing, which means more architects, artists, scientists and technology buffs are opening eyes and inspiring young minds.

For example, this year Global Village will expand to bring scientists into all 6th grade classes for year-long, hands-on residencies, in addition to the scientists already working with 3rd-8th graders throughout the district. Global Village is nearly doubling with 1,140 students working closely with scientists in 2007-2008.

Architecture Adventure is also growing. Launched in 2006 in the middle schools to take advantage of our community's wealth of architecture and professionals in the field, Architecture Adventure is now reaching into the K-5 classrooms as well. We'll have after-school clubs and an architecture summer camp later this year.

Our Vex Robotics Teams have dramatically increased their supply of robot parts and equipment, and added programming capability and adult supervisors since last year. The after-school clubs began in October for 6th, 7th and 8th graders at both middle schools. One of last year's participants said of the program, "My favorite part of robotics is learning mechanics. I always wondered how stuff works and I found out."

The Foundation's budget has also increased, in part thanks to major grants from Community Bank of OP-RF, the OP-RF Community Foundation, the Oak Park Area Arts Council and Target. But the vast majority of our funding comes from individuals in the community, responding to our requests with generous donations. You've asked us to keep the momentum growing: to provide innovative programs in our public schools, to keep the community connected to the schools and to continue developing, funding and implementing exciting programs.

Our programs exist only with your support! To make a donation to the Oak Park Education Foundation, click here. You can also reach us by mail at 970 Madison Street, Oak Park IL 60302, or by phone at (708) 524-3023.

 

OPEF is enhancing our popular Vex Robotics teams at both middle schools, thanks to a $4,000 grant awarded in September by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation. The money will be used to add hardware and software to accommodate a total of 18 teams.

Exciting new plans for the after-school clubs, open to all middle school students (and including several all-girls' teams), also include computer programming workshops for team leaders that will dramatically boost the programming capabilities of students.

Vex Robotics is making science, math, engineering and technology as cool for kids as sports!

 

Last year 22 Oak Park students participated in this worldwide program; this year 55 kids are in on the excitement of this after-school club. Students are grouped into teams which design, build and program robots, and then compete with other teams of students in robot games.

Vex Robotics unlocks the power of imagination while increasing knowledge of physics, engineering, and computer programming. Students also develop life skills such as teamwork, persistence, and selfconfidence as they take their robots from concept to reality.

Vex Robotics coordinator Mark Pickus, who leads the Brooks program with Pat Williams says, "I get excited seeing students express their creativity in their designs and struggle to make them work. I like helping but I also like to challenge them to figure it out themselves." Students agree. As one young designer put it, "You have in your mind what you want to make, and its fun
to see it actually work."

The Vex Robotics program is fully funded by the Oak Park Education Foundation, in partnership with District 97 schools.

 

Middle school students on Vex Robotics Teams traveled to Milwaukee on December 3 to observe the 2006 WIRED (Wisconsin Institute for Robotics in Education) Robotics Challenge, where more than 24 high school teams competed with robots they designed and built. Participating students learned robotics in a setting designed to make science, math and engineering as cool for kids as sports.

Oak Park students were inspired. One student remarked, "It was awesome. They had lots of cool robots that gave us lots of ideas. We asked lots of questions about their strategies and how they made things work."

The Brooks and Julian Vex Robotics students put their inspiration into action during the two schools' head-to-head robot competition on February 21. Ten project teams from Brooks and Julian designed and built robots that battled in an arena built by the teams. Tim Walsh, science teacher who leads the Julian program with Bob Parks, says, "The kids love it. They are very enthusiastic. They are having a lot of fun as they get ready for the competition."