Vernon robotics team shows off robot

VERNON — Vernon Township's robotics team brought their hardware to visit the Board of Education on Thursday night, and let the school board members have a hand at driving.

The high school team constructed their robot from scratch as part of the FIRST Robotics Competition. The program was founded by Dean Kamen, best known for inventing the Segway as way to encourage students to get hands on experience in technology and engineering. Students are given a kit of parts to construct a robot that can play a game and compete against other schools. The contests are held around the country and Vernon's team went to events in Mount Olive in March and Skillman in May. According to coach Anthony Ciaburri, the team struggled in Mount Olive, but went back and retooled their robot and made it to the quarterfinals in May.

This year the team is comprised mostly of freshman and sophomores, which bodes well for the future of the program, according to Ciaburri. They are working on limited resources though, as they are using the tools that currently exist in the district and what the parents are able to provide. The future is bright for the students though, as one parent pointed out, more than 180 scholarships and $20 million in scholarships are available exclusively to students who take part in the program.