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McFadden Robotics headed to national competition
Courtesy of the Murfreesboro Post

To a casual observer, it may not look like much more than a fabrication of plywood, plastic and wires. But don’t be fooled.

The creation is actually a robot fashioned by a team of students representing McFadden School of Excellence, a magnet school serving kindergarten through eighth grades in Rutherford County.

The team, comprised on mostly middle school students and a few former students of the school, are competing in a national robotic competition in Dallas, Texas on April 23-24.

“It gives the students an opportunity to do some hands-on engineering,” said Marc Guthrie, a McFadden science teacher and coach for the robotics team. “It gives them a chance to see what works and what doesn’t work.”

To earn a spot in the national competition, teams perform in regional contests and only the top four proceed. McFadden’s team recently placed first out of 54 teams at a regional competition held at Auburn University and will be one of 12 teams in the nationals. McFadden is the only middle school competing out of a field of high schools.

The teams must build a robot out of predetermined materials and then control the robot remotely to perform tasks on an obstacle course in three minutes. For example, the team may have to use their robot’s claw-like appendage to pick up beach balls and move them from one area of the course to another. The obstacle course team is made up of drivers and spotters, who help by giving instructions during the challenge.

Seventh-grader Colton Miller is a member of the obstacle course team and he enjoys the challenge of competing against other students with similar interests.

“I like the concept of perfecting a robot and taking it to a competition,” Miller said.
Josh Walker, another member of the obstacle course team, says the experience has nurtured his interest in engineering and helped him with his application to join a local leadership program for area teenagers.

“I’ve always been interested because my mom and dad are in engineering. Being in the robotics competition and doing all those interviews, that has really helped me with the interviews for Youth Leadership Rutherford,” Walker said.

But McFadden’s team is made up of more than the course team. In all, there are 38 students from the school who play a role along with lots of parents who help support the team.

“The idea is to organize your team like a corporation,” Guthrie said. “Different teams are responsible for different areas.”

For example, a group of students are responsible for creating marketing materials for McFadden’s project and then makes an oral presentation at the national competition. The school also has a spirit team consisting of a pep band, cheerleaders and a mascot. In fact, all students from the middle school grades at McFadden are attending the nationals to support the robotics team.

This year marks the fourth consecutive time the school has earned a place in the finals and the school has done well overall, including a fourth place finish two years ago. But regardless of the how the team finishes, the real importance is the impact it has on students and their education.

“We have students who are looking at engineering careers who maybe wouldn’t have,” Guthrie said. “That’s pretty rewarding. That’s the part I like.”

Currently the team practices in a former locker room at McFadden and the setup is far from glamorous. But Guthrie hopes to expand and improve the program when it moves to nearby Central Magnet School, a new Rutherford County school for high achievers that will open next year. Central Magnet will offer middle and high school students a curriculum focusing on math and science, making the robotics program a perfect fit.