Skyview Stormbots team has successful season of robotics competition

North Salmon Creek — Members of the Skyview Stormbots assembled quite a successful season. The team participated in three district events in Wilsonville, Philomath and Oregon City, Ore., as well as the district championship in Portland. The team took first place at the FRC Robotics Competition in Philomath, in addition to receiving two Quality Awards and two Industrial Safety Awards. The Stormbots have been established at Skyview for the past eight years. While the team works year-round, the build season is January through early April. The team gets a new challenge each year in January and is given six weeks to design and build a robot before competitions begin in March. This season, 44 students and 18 adult volunteers participated. Stormbots coach Kim Hansen said students can learn a variety of skills while on the team, including project management, marketing, real-world engineering and time management. She also said everyone involved with the Stormbots aids the team’s success. “We couldn’t run our program without the adult volunteer mentors that work with the students in small groups and teach them real-world applications of what they are learning in school,” Hansen said. “The hands-on experience the kids gain has proven valuable to many of our students in earning internship opportunities in local businesses.”