For the past eight years, Gershow Recycling has opened its Medford facility to local FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Long Island robotics teams, including coaches, students and their parents, to enable the teams to collect aluminum scrap metal.
Fifteen teams participated in Gershow’s Scrap Metal Day donation event. Following the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition kick-off, which took place on January 7, 2017 at Stony Brook University, each of the teams now has 6 weeks to construct a 120 pound robot and prepare for the upcoming competition, presented by School Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI).
Now entering its 18th season, the Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition is held annually at Hofstra University’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in late March or early April. More than 50 teams from Long Island, Brazil and the New York metropolitan area participated in the two day competition. During the six week build period, students work with professional engineering mentors to design a robot that solves a problem using a “kit of parts” and a standard set of rules. They then participate in regional competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration and the determination of the students.
The 15 Long Island teams represented at Gershow’s Scrap Metal Day included Bridgehampton High School (#5659), Central Islip High School (#4006), Center Moriches High School (#4458) Half Hollow Hills High School (#3624), Hauppauge High School (#358), Huntington High School (#5016), Kings Park High School (#5736), Longwood High School (#564), Miller Place High School (#514), North Shore High School (#3950), Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (#353), Townsend Harris High School (#2601) and Westhampton Beach High School (#3171). Two rookie teams, Our Lady of Mercy and Rocky Point/Shoreham, also attended the event, under the guidance of veteran team representatives.
Published in the March 2017 Edition of American Recycler News
