Story and photos by Brody Hannah ’30
During the MICDS Winter Term, students in the Hydrotech Innovations course are exploring how to create and utilize water to control their robotic arms. The director of the course and Seventh-Grade Science Teacher Mr. Nolan Clarke said, “Students are learning hydraulics by creating robotic arms with their final goal of identifying a specific design challenge that they want to achieve.“
When asked about why he decided to teach this course, Mr. Clarke said, “I wanted to provide students with the opportunities to expand their understanding of technology beyond what they would learn in their traditional life science class.”
Students were interviewed, starting with Max Etherington ’30, on why they decided to take this course. Max shared, “I decided to take this course because I enjoy building and innovating.”
Students were also asked what their favorite part was and what they were doing. Matthew Daniel ’30 said, “My favorite part about the Hydrotech Innovators course is building the slingshot on my robotic arm.” Furthermore, Max Tourais ’30 remarked, “We are building water-powered robotic arms, which we can turn into things like catapults and arms.”
The students have been hard at work learning and creating. They have been able to express their creativity by customizing their creations. By utilizing their skills, the students have become innovators by using hydrotech power to create movement.
These students have become engineers and have been doing a great job. Well done!