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Mighty Monkey Wrenches excel in robotics - NJ.com
The Mighty Monkey Wrenches, the robotics team of Ewing High School and the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf, went to the World Championships in St. Louis with three robots and a dream of winning the coveted FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Championship Winning Alliance.
The team competed against 350 schools and five countries and finished strong, making it to the final round, winning the Archimedes Division and earning the title of Championship Finalists at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
Although the team succumbed in the final match, it was honored for its efforts Monday at the Statehouse by state Sen. Shirley Turner, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman.
"They were honored for their community service and public relations work with the deaf community, and how well they did at the championships," said robotics adviser Cynthia Hutchinson.
The Mighty Monkey Wrenches team is used to challenges. In 2007, the Ewing Township Robotics Team had just completed its first year as a unit when the group was evicted from its work space, which was to be converted into a wrestling room. The team was told it was moving into a welding lab in the New Jersey School for the Deaf in West Trenton.
It turned out to be a good thing, according to Hutchinson. Not only was the space perfect, but the move also gave the team an opportunity to interact with others who had a different background, she said. Students from the New Jersey School for the Deaf joined the team. It turned out to be a fortunate pairing, she said.
That relationship eventually led the team to victory in March at the FIRST Robotics Competition at the Sun National Bank Center.
The Mighty Monkey Wrenches took first place in the regional competition with a strong technical and strategic showing, and they won the top prize in the highest and prestigious part of the competition, the Chairman's Award.
The two wins earned the Mighty Monkey Wrenches a spot in the nationals. "They went all the way to the final matches," said Hutchinson. "We didn't win, but we were close."
Still, making it to the final round was an amazingly hard feat, Hutchinson said.
"There were 350 schools in the championships, and we were the second highest alliance in the world," she said.
Plus, there were perks to being second best. The team was treated to a special concert by the group, The Black Eyed Peas, which posed for pictures with several team members.
"We also got to meet Morgan Freeman, who signed our winning banner," Hutchinson said.
Not bad for a team that is just five years old, yet has won 11 awards in the last two years.
In addition, two students are benefitting from their FIRST experience: Josh Morris received a scholarship to Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Marcella Velez will attend the National Technical Institute for the Deaf on a scholarship.
Hutchinson said the team's success is a motivating factor for the large group of freshmen who recently joined the team.
"This will give them so much to think about in terms of their careers and what they want to do," she said, noting that the scholarships are specific to the FIRST program.
The Mighty Monkey Wrenches, the robotics team of Ewing High School and the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf, went to the World Championships in St. Louis with three robots and a dream of winning the coveted FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Championship Winning Alliance.
The team competed against 350 schools and five countries and finished strong, making it to the final round, winning the Archimedes Division and earning the title of Championship Finalists at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
Although the team succumbed in the final match, it was honored for its efforts Monday at the Statehouse by state Sen. Shirley Turner, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman.
"They were honored for their community service and public relations work with the deaf community, and how well they did at the championships," said robotics adviser Cynthia Hutchinson.
The Mighty Monkey Wrenches team is used to challenges. In 2007, the Ewing Township Robotics Team had just completed its first year as a unit when the group was evicted from its work space, which was to be converted into a wrestling room. The team was told it was moving into a welding lab in the New Jersey School for the Deaf in West Trenton.
It turned out to be a good thing, according to Hutchinson. Not only was the space perfect, but the move also gave the team an opportunity to interact with others who had a different background, she said. Students from the New Jersey School for the Deaf joined the team. It turned out to be a fortunate pairing, she said.
That relationship eventually led the team to victory in March at the FIRST Robotics Competition at the Sun National Bank Center.
The Mighty Monkey Wrenches took first place in the regional competition with a strong technical and strategic showing, and they won the top prize in the highest and prestigious part of the competition, the Chairman's Award.
The two wins earned the Mighty Monkey Wrenches a spot in the nationals. "They went all the way to the final matches," said Hutchinson. "We didn't win, but we were close."
Still, making it to the final round was an amazingly hard feat, Hutchinson said.
"There were 350 schools in the championships, and we were the second highest alliance in the world," she said.
Plus, there were perks to being second best. The team was treated to a special concert by the group, The Black Eyed Peas, which posed for pictures with several team members.
"We also got to meet Morgan Freeman, who signed our winning banner," Hutchinson said.
Not bad for a team that is just five years old, yet has won 11 awards in the last two years.
In addition, two students are benefitting from their FIRST experience: Josh Morris received a scholarship to Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Marcella Velez will attend the National Technical Institute for the Deaf on a scholarship.
Hutchinson said the team's success is a motivating factor for the large group of freshmen who recently joined the team.
"This will give them so much to think about in terms of their careers and what they want to do," she said, noting that the scholarships are specific to the FIRST program.