Project Lead the Way engineers a winning night
The robotics portion of the Project Lead the Way evening proved to be a fan favorite, as school teams pitted their robot inventions against other schools for the right to be crowned champion.
The Project Lead the Way annual Community Showcase on Thursday, May 2 at Buckeye Career Center was created to offer high school and middle school students a chance to develop and showcase their engineering, biomedical and computer science savvy.
“Project Lead the Way has been in the county for 16 years, and this event is a chance for them to really showcase everything they are learning,” said Janine Garber, Allied Machine director of human resources. “Some of these students have been working in these fields since they were in elementary school, and the evolution of their projects is amazing.”
The annual showcase featured students from Buckeye Career Center, Claymont, Conotton Valley, Dover, Garaway, Indian Valley, New Philadelphia, Newcomerstown, Strasburg and Tuscarawas Valley.
The evening included a number of design projects in several different fields of competition, and the POE VEX robotic competition, the largest and fastest growing middle school and high school robotics program, featured an engineering challenge.
Students not only had to design, build and present their creations, but also had to share with adults and judges how they built their respective projects and the working parts of what they had built.
Because there was judging involved throughout the night in a variety of categories, there was a great deal of competitive spirit floating around the BCC.
“People think academics can’t be competitive, but it is, and there are a lot of bragging rights involved here,” Garber said.
Arenas of competition included mechanical engineering, medical, robotics, computers and more.
Garber said walking through the BCC, viewing projects and discussing them with the students shows the brilliance and dedication of students who take their studies very seriously.
She said seeing all the collaborative efforts in designing projects and the skill that went into each was inspiring, and seeing these teens and youth even younger investing themselves into their designs is the goal of PLTW.
“Solving problems, that is what Project Lead the Way is all about,” Garber said. “PLTW has taken the knowledge and allows these kids to apply it to real-world solutions.”
Through PLTW each category has a set of guidelines students must follow, but each school instructor is allowed to take the program and run with it when it comes to exploring the multitude of options available.
She said instructors have the joy and purpose of inspiring and challenging students to develop their skills and use their creative energy to push themselves academically.
“It’s about creating a spark and fueling the fire to learn and grow,” Garber said. “There’s unlimited opportunity, and every time we step outside the box and learn something new, it’s building character and allowing each student to pursue whatever they want to create.”
She said the hope is this event and the work that goes into it will help inspire these young people to pursue their passion in the future, noting what is being learned goes beyond the engineering world.
The evening culminated in an awards ceremony that rewarded the best of the best in each category.
The honor and bragging rights are fun, but Garber said the development and knowledge gained through PLTW is what truly matters.
The community also has realized this event is one that is supported by many area business partners who understand the value in what PLTW offers.
Allied Machine is one of the founding fathers of PLTW, and Garber said the ownership there recognized there was a need to encourage and develop individuals who would come back to the area to enhance area businesses.
Many other area companies have caught that vision and become major backers of PLTW.
“Project Lead the Way is supported by many local manufacturers along with plenty of great charitable organizations that understand the value of bringing hardworking, talented people back into our community,” Garber said. “There are more than 300 kids here who are showing incredible leadership skills and proving they are a big part of the future success of our area. Those are the types of people we as a community want to encourage to stay right here and develop our communities.”