Have you ever had a dream of winning a competition, but didn’t have the materials needed to compete? Well that’s what happened to Sugar Mill’s Beta Club last year when it didn’t have any robotics materials to compete at state convention.

That’s when Bots for Beta was born.

With Bots for Beta, the club was excited to begin a year-long journey into the world of robotics. The program allows students to design, create, code and operate their robot to perform the convention tasks.

The purpose of the project was to promote creativity, ingenuity and problem-solving skills all while learning to collaborate and work as a team.

After the materials were purchased, the sponsors began to research the best possible implementation ideas for the program. We had a lot to learn, but we were up to the task.

The students researched robot designs that would best complement the tasks assigned for convention. They had to push, lift and pile objects for the competition. They got straight to work and found the best bot for this task. The building process then began. There were some hiccups along the way, but they persevered and designed the perfect bot for their tasks.

After the design process was complete, the coding began. This was by far the trickiest part, but thankfully, “the students were on top of it,” a news release said.

“They knew more than we did,” teachers said in the release. “They worked day after day to perfect the coding, performed task after task, and eventually, their robot was working perfectly.

While they didn’t place at the convention, students and teachers learned a lot and “we look forward to expanding and competing again next year.”

Funds for this grant were provided by Pujol Irwin, LLC through the Ascension Fund. The Ascension Fund is a nonprofit organization established in 1991 by the Gonzales Rotary Club as an instrument for private sector leaders to invest directly in the work of individual teachers and schools through grants for innovative ideas and programs in Ascension Parish public schools.

Teacher Grants of $500, $1000, and School Impact Grants of $2500 are awarded on an annual competitive basis.