Thursday, December 17, 2009

About the LuNaTeCs

The LuNaTeCs Team 316 is a small team in rural South Jersey that was started in 1999. The team consists of approximately twelve to sixteen students. The students come from the five local high schools in our area, majoring in engineering, writing, and culinary in some cases. The team has twelve mentors, all ranging from different types of professions.


LuNaTeCs stands for Learning Under Nurturing Adults Teaching Engineering Concepts and Skills. The team is a part of an organization called FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). There are over 3000 teams that have been a part of FIRST since its inception in 1992.


Each January, the LuNaTeCs will anxiously await the revealing of the new "game" that is to be played that year. They are given 6 weeks to build the robot before shipping it out for the initial inspection.




Building the 2009 robot, Sammy Su.

The team spends over 15 hours every week in the workshop building the robot in those six weeks. Each student plays a vital part in building the robot. Some work on programming; others do electrical work; one student welds the robot with the help of a mentor. Not every student is required to work "hands on" on the robot. A few students direct their focus solely on Team Spirit for competition season.


In March, the team has their first competition. The team usually attends the Finger Lakes Regional in Rochester, NY. The second competition that the team enjoys going to is the Philadelphia Regional in Philadelphia, PA. The goal each year for the small team is to get the chance to go to Championships in Atlanta, GA.



The Drive Team and Back Up Drive Team for the LuNaTeCs after the Finger Lakes Regional 2009.


The LuNaTeCs participate in many community things each year. They do an Easter Seal project each year to help out people who have disabilities. The team also participates in road clean ups and collects plastic bottle caps as part of an effort to help out little kids who need dialysis or chemotherapy treatment.


The LuNaTeCs participating in the local 4H fair during the summer of 2009.


Thank you for reading the brief introduction to the LuNaTeCs. The team hopes you will continue to check up on their progress as they continue to change the lives of high school students in South Jersey.

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