Mar 4, 2016 2 min read

The West Greene Odyssey of the Mind team – consisting of Ian Coote, Peter Coote, Kara Curry, Katie Hutchison, Jacob Salai, Mikayla Sonneborn, Justin Ziefel and coaches Connie Curry and Marcia Sonneborn – recently donated funds they raised to assist the West Greene High School’s engineering club in their upcoming BotsIQ competition.

The Odyssey of the Mind team raised the funds with the help of their parents during their years of competition.

While competing for West Greene, the World Finalist Odyssey of the Mind Team placed 17th out of 56 teams from around the world, second place at the State Competition, and first place at Regionals in 2005.

The $500 dollar check was presented to the students during their engineering class by Marcia Sonneborn and Carol Salai.

Parents of the Odyssey of the Mind team members believe West Greene’s Engineering Club is a “great fit” for their donation, and it is hoped that the West Greene Engineering Team will have increased success at this year’s competition.

The BotsIQ team members come from the advanced engineering class, taught by West Greene’s science teacher Eric Armstrong, which is part of the science department’s daily curriculum. The school also offers an engineering club that meets once a month during the activity period. The advanced engineering course is available to students in grades nine through 12 who are proficient in algebra, and express an interest in a STEM-related field.

The engineering club often engage in other projects and challenges such as the WVU Pumpkin Drop, the Chain Reaction Contraption contest, the construction of an underwater remotely operated vehicle, and the design and construction of the trout tank now located in the school lobby.

This is West Greene’s fourth year participating in the BotsIQ event. The first two years the team spent learning the technology and manufacturing skills, and upgrading the facility with a milling machine. The milling machine was purchased with grant funds from the Community Foundation of Greene County. They were able to purchase a 3D printer this year to assist in their project through a STEAM grant.

Last year, the team finished third at prelims and competed in five rounds at finals — their best finish to date. The 2016 BotsIQ event competition will begin on March 18 at Westmoreland County Community College and the finals will be on April 8 and 9 at California University of Pennsylvania.