Mang’u high school students build robot
Mang’u high school students build robot
Mang’u high school students build robot
Together with their US counterparts, a group of tech-savvy Mang’u School students have built a robotic device that can precisely discharge foam rings into a bucket seven meters away.
Over thirty students from Mang’u High School and students from Horace Mann School in New York, US, collaborated for two weeks to build the robot from the ground up.
Five members of the Horace Mann School robotics team traveled to Mangu for the second time in July of last year to assist their Mang’u counterparts in finishing the project.
The process started the previous year when they worked with Horace Mann School pupils to create an automated machine drone that could hover around the school grounds.
One of the top robotics schools is the Horace Mann School. Since 2015, students from all across the world have been participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) as Team 5806.
Through the World’s Leading Youth-Serving Nonprofit, Advancing STEM Education, the competitions aim to inspire and recognize science and technology.
Almost 10,000 teams have constructed industrial-sized, 70-kilogram robots in FRC’s annual tournaments throughout the world, which serves as an international, student-centered celebration of robotics. These robots can drive, toss objects, and even climb monkey bars.
The Alexander Capelluto Foundation awarded the US school a grant in 2023, challenging [students] to create meaningful initiatives that enhance conditions in places of their choice in order to make a difference in the world.
We used this grant to hold a one-week robotics workshop series at Mang’u High School in Kiambu, Kenya. The courses covered the foundational knowledge needed to construct, program, and electrically engineer a robot.
Because of their curiosity and enthusiasm for the field of engineering, 30 kids from Forms 2 through 4 were chosen to participate in the program by their mentor, Mr. Serem. By the end of the previous year’s week, the Mang’u students had entirely constructed a driving robot from scratch.
The Mang’u students and their partners improved upon the robot’s chassis from the previous year to construct a foam ring-shooting machine that would have competed in the 2024 FRC season.
“This accomplishment shows as a testament to the enormous potential of the Mang’u students as a team, especially since teams are given two months to build a robot during the official FRC season,” said Sebastian Baxter, a student at Horace Mann School.
Baxter said robotics are becoming relevant in day-to-day lives.
“There are dangerous jobs like firemen’s work and even the police. People in the developed world are increasingly refusing to take risks and for sure we don’t want to lose our jobs. We need them to embrace robotics so that the firemen and the police can work more in the background,” said Baxter.
Berk Yilmaz, a fellow student said it was a Robotics revolution and with technologies like Space exploration, using Mars and Venus, scientists were robots with AI to learn the situations.
“Our time as members of an FRC team stands out as one of the best experiences of our lives—an experience every student, no matter their background, should have the chance to enjoy. Through competing in FRC, Mang’u robotics students will have the unparalleled opportunity to gain firsthand experience with mechanical, electrical, and software engineering, preparing them to become international leaders in the ever-growing, cutting-edge technology industries, especially as the spheres of artificial intelligence and robotics rapidly advance.,” said Yilmaz.
Ellen Wang said they envisioned a future where robotics education is accessible to all Kenyan students, sparking a revolution in technology and innovation across the continent.
“By establishing robotics programs in schools and organizing workshops and competitions, we aim to create a vibrant ecosystem of STEM education in Kenya and beyond,” Wang said.
In 2025, Yilmaz said they wanted to establish Mang’u Robotics as the first East African team to compete in FRC formally.
“With guidance from us available overseas, students will work five days a week to prototype, construct, wire, program, and test their robot. In mid-March, the team will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, to compete with 50 other FRC teams, with a possible chance to qualify for the World Championships in Houston, Texas, USA.
“We are pleased that the institution is leading the way in cutting-edge technology. To address issues in infrastructure, health, and agriculture, we as a nation must embrace AI and domesticate the technology, according to Morintat.
According to Mr. Morintat, each student from the Mung’u would have to pay around sh130,000 (or $1000 US) to participate in Istanbul. He expressed the hope that the government and large corporations, like as airlines, would assist the kids in realizing their aspirations.
John Kuria, the chief principal of Mang’u High School, reported that more pupils were becoming interested in technology and that the robotics kids were making good progress.
“There are innumerable advantages, new industries are developing, the world is changing frequently, and the best thing to do is to make sure that students begin embracing technology at an early age. In the future, students can use the abilities they are gaining to tackle challenging problems,” Kuria stated.
