SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
MACHINE LEARNING A spotlight on three robotics clubs that prove their mettle by earning medals B Y AMB ER WATSON PHOTOG RAPHY B Y J OHN MICHAEL SIM PS O N
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any Durham schools are known for their STEM classes and clubs, and the accomplishments of several highly ranked competitive high school robotics teams are proof of their success. TerrorBytes Robotics of Research Triangle High School, DARC SIDE of Durham Academy and the Zebracorns, which was founded and is hosted at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, have
all grown in popularity and accomplishments over the years. Team mentors and
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students proudly share the awards they’ve earned, skills they’ve acquired and team-building experiences that make robotics so much more than a simple engineering club.
Meet the Makers
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his year marks the 10-year anniversary of the TerrorBytes, and to commemorate the milestone, they plan on working up some new logos and team-bonding exercises. Students who’ve learned how to program with LEDs, for instance, may come up with something involving programmable LED strips or matrices, while others may want to put a stylishly designed sticker representing of one of their other hobbies or clubs on some out-of-the-way part of the robot. Veteran volunteer team mentor Brian O’Sullivan remembers when the TerrorBytes started with just 11 students and four mentors