Maiya Durocher, a 13 year old grade nine student at Algonquin, teaches Otem McGregor how to operate a robot. Photos by Jeff Turl.
A youngster from Africa was thrilled Saturday to take part in Robomania!, set up in the centre court of Northgate.
Otem McGregor is from Nairobi, Kenya. His mother was a journalist in Africa for nine years and is on her way to a job in Washington.
He was visiting with his great aunt Rosemary Ladouceur when we dropped in.
"He loves robots," she told BayToday Saturday indicating the experience with Team 1305 might help propel him in that direction as a career. The pair also visited the fire department and got a tour of the fire trucks.
In its sixth year, four tiers of competitive varsity robotics took over Northgate’s Centre Court for a two day robot extravaganza.
Maiya Durocher was helping her brother during last year's event and got hooked.
"They were all bugging me, 'Hey you're really great with all these kids, can you join the team?' and I thought, ya this is something I would really like to do."
"I've made a lot of friends during my time here at Robomania . I got to see how they work on the robots and how to drive the robot and I was like 'Wow, I really like this!'."
The experience has also changed her mind about a future in robotics.
"Before, I wanted to be an optometrist, but this allowed me to work with kids and I thought 'Wow I really like kids', so I really want to start working in daycare or as a teacher so I can work with them all the time," Maiya explained.
"My parents have been really supportive."
Children were invited to build their own LEGO NXT Robot while parents were asking about forming their own Junior FIRST LEGO League team, in which children aged 6 to 9 explore real-world scientific concepts through research, teamwork, construction, and imagination.
There is also a more competitive experience through the FIRST LEGO League for children ages 10 to 14.
The team's stable of 100+ pound FRC robots including Phelix, Stanley, Si were on display all weekend showing off their skills.
FIRST Team 1305, is a robotics team representing the city of North Bay and surrounding area.
It's dedicated to promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to youth, locally, nationally, and internationally through hands on, mentor based programs.
