Budding robotics engineers from Südlohn-Oeding

Laughter, excited faces, lots of helping hands - anyone who sees the robotics club at von Galen elementary school in action quickly realizes that it's not just about technology, but also about enthusiasm, team spirit and a large portion of curiosity. The 16 pupils are currently preparing for a major competition: the state-wide zdi robotics competition. Some of the new equipment for this comes from the local company BEWITAL.
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“It's just fun, you always learn something new - and sometimes you can even help your parents later if something is broken,” says one pupil with a laugh. Then he and the other pupils set up the course for the weekly learning unit of a different kind. It's all about programming, trying things out, making mistakes - and learning from them.

Big ideas for the future

The tasks that the children are currently preparing for are quite something: this year's zdi robotics competition is all about “Future Food”. For example, the robots have to simulate how algae can be harvested, weeds removed or ripe vegetables recognized - all on a LEGO scale. The students independently develop suitable programming and creative solutions to master the tasks within a given course. “That's the beauty of robotics,” explains Sebastian Terhart, teacher and head of the working group. “The children realize: Mistakes are not a step backwards, but often the way to a solution. They learn to keep at it, think creatively and solve problems as a team.”

In addition to Terhart, Marco Becker, an experienced software developer, is also involved in the working group on a voluntary basis. Thanks to his support, two groups of eight children can be supervised at the same time - a great benefit, as there is a great deal of interest in the working group.

Technology promotion with a tailwind

The school has purchased a new, powerful LEGO robot to ensure that it is also technically well-positioned for the future competition; a second of these robots comes from BEWITAL and will provide support during the tournaments. The previous models will remain in use for practice - the new ones will soon be on the road: the preliminary round is scheduled for June 14 in Recklinghausen, followed by the final on June 28 in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In just 2.5 minutes, the teams will have to show what they and their robots can do.

A circle closes

A special highlight: Alexander Bergup, now an electrician at BEWITAL, was once a pupil at the von Galen School himself and has now invited the young inventors to visit his neighbor BEWITAL. The children can then experience live how large industrial robots work in industrial applications - an exciting change of perspective that shows: Those who playfully program today can be part of real high-tech processes tomorrow.