SCHOOLS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2022
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Ready, set, battle
Area students take to
robot battles at
Camp Umatilla near
Hermiston
BY JOHN TILLMAN
Hermiston Herald
Area students with a desire
to enhance programming, engi-
neering and design skills took to
battle this week.
Using robots they made with
Legos in an arena taped off on a
floor.
Ten boys but no girls attended
the August session of STARBASE
Academy, which concluded
Thursday, Aug. 4, at Camp Uma-
tilla, the military facility west of
Hermiston. The first camp this
year was July 12-14.
“This is the first camp we’ve
had without any girls,” STAR-
BASE Oregon Deputy Director
Colin Haines said. “Last session’s
winning BattleBot was built by
Cayden Zamudio and a friend.
They named it King Bob. This
session we have another King
Bob. I just learned about the
character in Minions.”
Haines also teaches engineer-
ing at Hermiston High School.
“Last year the course ended
with a water hazard,” he said, “but
that deal failed, with wet robots.”
Haines replaced the water haz-
ard with a pyramid of cans.
The Camp Umatilla STAR-
BASE is one four science, tech-
nology, engineering and math-
ematics academies at military
bases in Oregon, thanks to fund-
ing from the U.S. Department
of Defense. Twice each summer,
Camp Umatilla hosts fourth to
seventh grade students from Or-
egon and Washington for three-
day sessions to enhance their
programming, engineering and
design skills.
In small group settings, stu-
dents designed, built, pro-
grammed and tested Lego robots.
Then took their projects into a
double elimination BattleBots
tournament.
The students employ strategy
and tactics when it comes to the
BattleBot action. David Young of
Kennewick stripped down this
bot to basics.
“It doesn’t have a weapon or
a spinner,” he said. “Just a wall. I
think it will be able to push well.”
Young’s Superbot won its first
round against a bigger robot wea-
ponized with a hammer. His Bat-
tleBot pushed its opponent Capy-
bara out of the ring within the
three-minute time limit.
If neither entrant drove at least
one wheel or tread of its opponent
out of the ring, Haines declared
a winner based upon objective
criteria, including aggressiveness.
He dramatically announced each
contestant with an improvised
rhyming introduction.
After the first round with
five matches, contestants took a
15-minute break to tweak their
robots.
Lucas McCann of Stanfield
won the tournament with Spot
Da Bomb. The day before, his ro-
bot had come close to setting the
obstacle course record.
The other three STARBASE
Academies in Oregon are at Port-
land and Kingsley, Klamath Falls
Air National Guard Bases and
Army Guard Camp Rilea, War-
renton.
“When the kids first walk in
the classroom, they can be some-
what intimidated,” according to
Denise Kortes, state director for
STARBASE Oregon. “But right
away we start with concepts and
the design wheel, introducing
why it’s okay to fail. By failing you
learn something.”
The BattleBot summer camps
take students from learning to
make basic movements with
their robots to having them
transverse inclined planes and
navigate an obstacle course.
“They think they are just hav-
ing fun, but right away they are
learning not only about robotics
and physics, but learning how to
overcome setbacks through trial
and error,” Kortes said.
On the final day comes the
battle royale.
During her 10 years with
STARBASE education, Kortes
said she has not just seen the pro-
gram grow but has witnessed the
lasting impact it has made on the
students who attend the summer
camps and programs during the
school year.
“We have things that kids can
experiment with that some of the
schools in the area cannot afford,”
she further explained. “In 2014
we started using iPads because
they saved paper and printing
cost, and were more interactive
for the students. It also took time
to print out booklets and, really,
the kids were not that interested
in using those materials. Once we
introduced the work on iPads, it
only enhanced their interest in
technology.”
The STARBASE Academy
at Camp Umatilla is the newest
academy in Oregon.
“Oregon is one of the few states
that has four academies,” Kortes
said. “Just in Portland, we’re see-
ing 60 school classes from differ-
ent public schools in an academic
year, where the kids are getting 25
hours of work during those five
days in the classroom.”
There is no testing or grades,
she added. Therefore, everything
the students do in the program is
a success because the program is
designed around innovation and
working in groups to develop
solutions.
“The first day they arrive, the
kids work on the programming
aspect of robot building, which
includes sensors to get their ro-
bots to function with automatic
controls,” said Colin Haines, who
has served as the Deputy Di-
rector of STARBASE Umatilla
since the site opened two years
ago. “The second two days are
focused on engineering, so that
their robots are agile, and can
battle each other.”
The small class size of 10 to
12 campers helps Haines teach
the class and offer one-on-one
feedback the campers have. Each
team of two has its own table,
upon which they can assemble
the motors, Lego parts and other
pieces to build the ultimate Bat-
tleBot.
“Teamwork is key,” Haines
said. “No. 1, it gives them confi-
dence, and secondly, social learn-
ing is often the best learning.
Collaboration gives them multi-
ple ideas. They turn the learning
into play.”
Haines said the BattleBot
camp needs to be exciting given
all the other choices youths have
for summer fun.
“We really need to go above
and beyond the fun level because
they could be playing baseball or
at home with video games,” he
said. This is another aspect with
the STARBASE program, which
helps bridge those gaps that some
schools are missing in STEM ed-
ucation.
“When you can get kids to ac-
cidentally learn something when
they are goofing around, that’s a
real win,” Haines said. “That just
makes you feel good to know
these kids want to actively stay
engaged…we live for that ‘Ah
ha moment,’ when they connect
to something new.”
HERMISTON
FALL FESTIVAL
OCTOBER 7-9TH
Beer, BBQ &
much more!
BattleBots stand at the ready near their young creators Aug. 4, 2022, at STARBASE Academy at Camp Umatilla near Hermiston.
Tristan Baches, 10, of Hermiston, adds final touches to his robot Thurs-
day, Aug. 4, 2022, at the STARBASE Academy at Camp Umatilla near
Hermiston. “It takes a couple of hours to build. I like to be able to make
them do things,” he said.
Caleb Belgard, 13, of Plymouth, Washington, assembles his robot Thurs-
day, Aug. 4, 2022, at the STARBASE Academy at Camp Umatilla near
Hermiston. “It’s my first time building a robot,” he said. “I’ll definitely
do it again. It’s fun to put pieces together.”
Samuel Vanderstelt, 11, of Hermiston, celebrates his robot battle vic-
tory Aug. 4, 2022, at the STARBASE Academy at Camp Umatilla near
Hermiston.
David Young, of Kennewick, 10, prepares his robot control pad Thurs-
day, Aug. 4, 2022, at the STARBASE Academy at Camp Umatilla near
Hermiston.
David Young, 10, of Kennewick, armed with a control pad, enters the
BattleBot arena Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, at the STARBASE Academy at
Camp Umatilla near Hermiston.
Colin Haines, STARBASE Oregon deputy director and Hermiston High
School engineering teacher, hosts the BattleBot competition Thursday,
Aug. 4, 2022, at Camp Umatilla near Hermiston.
“When the kids first walk in the classroom, they can be somewhat
intimidated. But right away we start with concepts and the design wheel,
introducing why it’s okay to fail. By failing you learn something.”
Photos by Yasser Marte
Hermiston Herald
— Denise Kortes, state director for STARBASE Oregon
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