Robotics team succeeds
in fund drive

The McKinley High School robotics team, Kika Mana, has raised enough money in the last two weeks to travel to Atlanta to compete in the nationals.

They needed more than $10,000 to get to the fifth annual NASA-sponsored For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition finals, to be held Thursday to April 23. The team leaves Tuesday.

An anonymous donor from the McKinley High Foundation donated a large amount; Local 121 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers gave $3,000; and individuals from the community also contributed to the fund.

Hawaiian Electric Co., one of the team's sponsors, matched the donations 50 cents to each dollar.

After placing second and third in regional competitions in San Jose, Calif., and Las Vegas, including the prestigious Regional Chairman's Award in San Jose, the team unexpectedly decided to try to compete in the nationals when they returned.

The FIRST competition challenges teams of high school students and their mentors to build a robot within a six-week time frame, using a standard kit of parts issued to all teams.

The robots are entered in a series of competitions to see how well they perform. More than 8,500 students will participate in the finals at the Georgia Dome.