Benefits of Participation

• Mechanalia is an experience designed to educate and inspire young people to embrace science, math and engineering. This is done through hands on experiences in which they apply basic physical principles to create robotic arms or grippers and to solve various problems.

• Mechanalia at its core is a large scale, dynamic competition in which students compete using robotic arms and grippers that they and their teammates have designed and built from a standard kit of parts. The competition is the culminating event of the design, build, and curriculum based phase. The competitions are dynamic and stimulating environments in which players get to test their knowledge and skills. The most vital knowledge gained by participation in Mechanalia is the understanding of how basic technical knowledge and theory are applied to real engineering applications. A major task of each team is to create a functioning robotic arm that performs well in the competition environment. Proper application of physics, math and engineering principles is vital to creating a successful arm or gripper. During the design and build phase, students get immediate feedback as to how well they have mastered basic knowledge. By testing the functionality of their robotic arms, they observe firsthand how well they work. A well functioning arm means learning has occurred; an arm that does not perform well means more learning is necessary.

• Participants are exposed to basic physics, math and engineering principles in a manner meaningful to them. These principles include:

• Force and Pressure
• Torque
• Mechanical Advantage and Simple Machines
• Fluid Flow Rate
• Rotational Speed
• Linear Speed
• Friction
• Basic Hydraulic Circuitry and related components such as hoses, valves, pumps, quick connects
• Various mechanical components such as bolts, screws, springs, linkages
• Engineering materials such as steel, aluminum, plastics

• Players will also gain valuable communication and teamwork skills as they negotiate the arena of the Mechanalia competition. Several tasks must be completed simultaneously by the team to be successful in a tournament. Team members work together to discover their comparative advantages, and the team must determine who functions best at the various positions. Additionally, team members must utilize a variety of skills if they choose to rotate positions. During play, individuals must share information to accomplish certain goals and implement strategy. Therefore, good communication skills are paramount.