The GryphTech Robotics team from Gravenhurst High School is hosting an open house for the community this week, aiming to showcase their work and share their enthusiasm for science and technology.
The group’s robot for the FIRST Robotics Competition, which has teams create a robot to play in a field game against competitors, is well underway. They’re feeling confident as they head toward competitions in Barrie and North Bay in March, said team mentor Linda Hachmer. GryphTech Robotics will need to rank high enough at both events to qualify for the provincial championships in Mississauga from April 8 to 11. Off to a strong start, the team decided to share their work at an open house in their robotics classroom at the high school from 4 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 20.
“We want to thank our sponsors and lots of our sponsors have heard about our team, but they haven’t seen what we’re actually doing,” Hachmer said. “We want to be able to show people what we’re doing. We also want to inspire the younger generation, so we’re putting out an invitation to our elementary schools as well.”
The team also wants to host the open house to give the students’ parents a chance to see their work. At the event, the team will showcase the programming side of their efforts, a digital animation project they’ve been working on as well as the robot they’ve been creating. Hachmer encourages locals to come out in support of the students and their work.
“It’s showing the community how much we believe in our youth and the different places that they can go when they finish high school,” Hachmer said. “We’re also really looking at the building skills that we’re teaching kids, so Muskoka is full of construction companies and we are teaching kids some of these skills.”
Hachmer said that the team has been floored by the community support they’ve received, but they still need 57 sponsors to reach their goal in the 100 for 100 campaign, which asks 100 local businesses to donate at least $100. Most of their 43 sponsors have come from Gravenhurst, so Hachmer and the team want to thank their community for the ongoing assistance.
“We’re just amazed by the community support,” she said. “We’re so happy with everything that the Town of Gravenhurst, Rotary, Lions, all of our community groups as well as individual families have donated.”
If you want to support GryphTech Robotics as a sponsor or RSVP to the open house, contact Linda Hachmer at l.hachmer@gmail.com or at 705-687-9083. To keep up with GryphTech Robotics 6864 and their 2020 season, follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Learn more about the team in the article below.
Gravenhurst Robotics Team Grows To Nearly 30 Students Heading Into Third Season