By Sam Horner
On February 6th the Wrenshall YES! team participated in a Winter Workshop that included a visit of Lake Superior College’s downtown campus. They were able to tour a facility that has equipment that can help the team with their projects and allowed the team to form a partnership with the school to learn more about how they could further their projects in the future.
First the students met with Max Udovich, Head Machinist. Max works with various technologies and computers to create tools and different products. Max showed the students a variety of different machines that a machinist would need to know how to use. The students were impressed by these expensive machines that involve a lot of different technologies.
Craig Wiermaa, Head Welder, was the next presenter. He showed the students the different tools that he uses and the spaces where the welding classes happen. He emphasized that welding is more hands-on than the machinist work, involves less computer work, and requires sustained focus.
Finally, the team received a presentation on Battle Bots, a program where students build a robot to compete against another robot. The students need to follow strict rules in building their robots. A lot of work goes into the construction and electrical work to make sure the robots function as planned. Lake Superior College also has a whole arena that they use for their events.
This visit to Lake Superior College was beneficial to the students. The students learned a lot about the world of welding and machinist work. The team was able to connect with experts that could help them in modifying and building their Super High Mileage Car and Solar Boat. They also set up a potential partnership and place to work on these vehicles as well. Hopefully with this partnership, their projects will be successful in their competitions. The students also learned about the power of a degree from a technical school. This Winter Workshop was a great success for the Wrenshall YES! Team.
