Student-made robots take over the Hartford Athletic stadium

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) – For one morning Tuesday, they were playing a different kind of ball at the home of the Hartford Athletic.

The robots were the stars, along with the students who made them.

It was part of the third-annual STEM & Soccer Education Day at Trinity Health Stadium. That’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

“There’s a lot that goes into it, like brainstorming, coming up with ideas, prototyping with card board and metal, then starting to come together and make the idea,” said Zoya Goyal of the East Catholic High Robotics Team.

The robotics team from Manchester knows about STEM and team sports.

“So, every year there’s a different competition that we take part in and we have six weeks to build and program these robots for that competition,” explained Brendan Raykoff, also of the East Catholic High Robotics Team.

It’s not just robots on display. Students from all over the area showed off all kinds of different projects on the grounds outside the stadium, all to encourage the study of STEM. While the day is literally about fun and games, the effort to get kids interested in STEM is actually serious business. We, as a society, need these kids to study science.

“We have a lot of problems in our society that need to be solved by creative and inventive minds through science and engineering and technology and all of the above,” said CREC Magnet Schools Science Supervisor Julie Christianson.

The kids do get to watch a Hartford Athletic game, as well.

“And we use GPS to measure speed and amount of time on the field and we kind of translate that in for these students to actually do problems and math problems and show us what they can do,” said Athletic Team Owner Bruce Mandell.

There’s science and math in sports, and there can also be some sports mixed in with the science and math.

“It’s a team. It’s kind of like a sports team. We run like a sports team,” said Goyal. “There’s a lot hours that go into it, and it’s a really good community where you can make a lot of friends.”

And help build a better future, as well.