Max Du and the rest of the Forge 4421 team were busy Saturday making adjustments and tweaks to their robot before they have to pack up and head to Vancouver next week for the Canadian Pacific Regional Competition next weekend.
The senior team with the Alberta Tech Alliance Association, Du believes this year could be big.
“We go to this competition every single year,” explains Du. “This year it’s really special because, while it is my last year at this team, it’s also one of the robots that we’ve had that’s been the best over the last couple of years.”
Since 2014 the ATAA has been using robotics as an catalyst to create a passion for STEM. Edgar Yajure with ATAA tells Global News since day one, Alberta youth have been powerhouses in the field of STEM.
“We actually had a really hot start in our rookie year,” Yajure said. “We actually went to the world championship.”
The rafters of their workshop are adorned with banners from winning or at least placing in competitions across North America, and even as far away as Shanghai.
Yajure believes programs like the ATAA give youth opportunities to really experience STEM on a whole new level.
“This challenge and this opportunity to make an automatic machine is something that many engineering graduates don’t actually get,” said Yajure. “To be able to work on the conceptualization to the prototypes, trying and failing many times… This is the hardest fun they’ll ever have!”
Youth as young as nine years old are able to join the ATAA, beginning their journey by working with Lego. As they get older and advance they develop their skills further, using chop saws, CNC machines, and other equipment to build robots that weigh as much as 140 pounds.
Du was one of those youth who started young. He tells Global News that ATAA played a crucial role in guiding him towards his future.
“The ATAA has provided like such a good space for me,” Du said. “Not only with getting involved with STEM, but to continue in STEM to the point where now I’m gonna plan to pursue STEM into post-secondary.”
If they’re successful in Vancouver next weekend, the team hopes to qualify for the world championships taking place in Houston in April.