Senior Nikita Opel and sophomore Ethan Guttman took part in a robotics competition, making this the first year Daniel Pearl Magnet High School has competed.

“It inspired me to look at engineering in a different way because it’s more complex than people think it is,” Opel said. “It’s more creative than just parts. I feel like people should get into it.”

Opel describe a very energetic, crowded environment. Kids ran back and forth, searching for parts to complete their incomplete robots. Meanwhile others excitedly put there projects in line; readying them for competition.

As for their team, they decided to take a more simple route. They only had 20 days to design a bot, so they created a clawbot which would raise a cone and place it on top of something else. Only two of their 16 members showed up to compete, making it an even more stressful situation.

“Personally, I don’t have a next time because it’s only for high school students and I’m a senior,” Opel said. “But next year people should dedicate time to making the robot and actually make a team.”

In first place came a Middle School team named, “The Dumpling Squad.” Their team came in 29th place out of 46. Although they didn’t win, Guttman believes they did pretty well considering all the challenges thrown at them.

“It was more like a passionate energy,” Guttman said. “We wanted the win but it was just for fun.”