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HOPEWELL VALLEY: New robotics club wins honors at fair

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Incoming Timberlane Middle School students have joined their peers at Hopewell Valley Central High School in landing honors in the field of robotics.
Those soon-to-be Timberlaners are Ben Veale, Jimmy Kiefer, Henry Stanton, Dominic Guarino and Cameron Phillips.
All members of the local 4H Club, their Infinity Robotics Club won the "Best in Division" ribbon for their robotics display at the 4H Fair, held recently at the Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township.
"Our Infinity Robotics Club was created out of a need for six local fifth grade students to express their ingenuity, creativity and building expertise," said Melina Guarino, a mentor of the club. "Learning more about the world of robotics seemed like a natural fit, and together they are ‘building structures and connecting friends with no limits,’ which they have used as their club motto since January."
After learning the basics of robotics, specifically using Lego Mindstorm technology, at summer camp, the boys didn’t want to wait until middle school to continue learning about robotics, Ms. Guarino said.
"We talked with our regional 4H representative to learn more about Rutgers 4H opportunities. In the fall, our group partnered with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension and became an official 4H club. We made this decision to partner with Rutgers for several reasons. We share their philosophy ‘To Make the Best, Better.’ We agree with their slogan ‘Learning by Doing.’"
Ms. Guarino added: "What has made this club so successful is the mentorship provided by our two high school mentors from the Central High School’s award winning robotics team, Spike.
For six months they have volunteered their time to teach these young robotics hopefuls the basic concepts in robotics, and Mindstorm technology.
Utilizing the Lego Mindstorm kits, they state what type of challenge or robot they would like the team to create, and then guide them throughout the process through a series of questions, teaching them valuable problem-solving skills."