Hard Work Pays Off for Sandy Springs Middle School Students at Technology Fair

From Sandy Springs Middle School

Four students at Sandy Springs Charter Middle School were awarded first place in robotics and three dimensional modeling during the Fulton County Schools Technology Fair held Riverwood High School, last Saturday.

The winners are eighth-graders Parsa Khorsani, Nicholas Wargo, Rachel Miller, and sixth-grader Benjamin Miller.

Khorsani and Wargo competed against 11 robotics teams in the seventh and eight grade division of the Technology Fair. The students designed and programmed a Lego Mindstorm robot to follow a sensor on a S-shaped track and pick up a red plastic ball. The robot had to bypass a blue ball and pick up the red ball, and return to its starting position after depositing the red ball in a designated bin.

The students worked on this project during Sandy Springs Middle’s After-School All Star robotics program.

Brother and sister, Rachel and Ben Miller won first place in the three-dimensional modeling category.  They competed in the eighth and seventh grade divisions, respectively, against 6 teams. The students used Google Sketch Up to develop a three-dimensional model of their home.  After measuring each room, the students entered the exact dimensions of the rooms into the computer program.  A three-dimensional model was generated. 

Working together, the siblings designed furniture to fit into every room.  The siblings developed several views of their home, including shadows on the home as would be seen during different times of the day.  An aerial view was also presented. 

“We are so proud of these students, “ said Dr. Kay Walker, the school principal. “The skills that they are mastering in these areas will help them exponentially as they prepare for higher education and careers in the twenty-first century.”