Manual Arts team builds robot, helps Chilean students

Manual Arts High School students are engaging in science diplomacy.

Fifteen students participate in an international robotics competition and have been assisting a team of students in Chile build their robot.

The students have been working afterschool and on the weekends to build a robot to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition, which will be held in late March.

The Manual Arts team is in its seventh year of competition and has climbed steadily, placing fifth in the competition in 2009.

“We are learning to reach out further than our borders and see what we can do to help the team,” said Bayron Lopez, a former Manual Arts student, about the sharing of resources.

All participating teams of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition receive an identical kit of parts and are given six weeks to create a robot that can participate in the challenge of the year.

Prior to the earthquake, students at Manual Arts were communicating with the Chilean team, Corazon de Chileno, using Skype and Facebook.

Students have been exchanging ideas with one another.

Engineers from Raytheon and Boeing, who volunteer their time to mentor the group in South Los Angeles, also assist the Chilean team with formulas and troubleshoot through video chat.

“We wouldn’t be able to participate this year without the help of team in L.A.,” said Juan Pablo, a student from the Corazon de Chileno. “This year, we’re naming our robot John Santos as a thanks for all he’s done.”

John Santos is the teacher for Manual Arts’ Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program and has been instrumental in making the academic and cultural exchange with Chile.

“Last year we received an email from the team a month before the competition asking if anyone could provide them with support because they’ve never been to Los Angeles,” Santos said.

Manual Arts helped the team by supplying them with tools, sharing transportation to the competition and helped with anything they needed to keep the robot running, Santos said.

“We have known them for a year, we have pretty strong bonds,” said Jose Serrano, a senior at Manual Arts and the team captain. “We are trying to communicate through Facebook and Myspace, but we’re worried about our friends.”

Through robotics, the students have had the opportunity to work on team-building and problem solving skills.

Working with the team in Chile has also improved students’ Spanish speaking skills, said Lopez.

In fact, Santos often speaks to the Chilean team in Spanish and then translates the conversation to his team members.

The students from Corazon de Chileno submitted their robot on February 23, just four days before Chile was hit with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake.

With the aftermath of the disaster, it is unclear if the students will be able to fly to Los Angeles to compete.

“The average family in Chile makes about $11,000 a year, the students would have to spend 10 percent of that on airfare to come out here for a week,” Santos said.

The Manual Arts and South Los Angeles community is opening its doors to the students, with many teachers offering to provide housing and take care of the team during their visit. Funding, however, is needed to assist the students in buying their plane tickets.

“We’re not the richest part of Los Angeles, but we’re willing to share whatever we have,” Santos said.

Approximately 12-15 students are needed for the competition that will be held March 26 and 27 at the Long Beach Sports Arena.

Manual Arts is helping the students fundraise by sharing the story of the team and directing donors to the Corazon de Chile web site where the team is accepting donations.

“What is really important is making sure the people in the country are safe, but this has a place too,” Santos said.

Check out Manual Arts High School’s robot from last year: