New Walton HS robotics lab opens, team returns to campus

Walton Robotics Lab opens

A good bit has been made of Walton High School sports teams that had to compete off-campus when a new classroom building was being constructed.

Another extracurricular organization, the Walton Robotics Team, also had to conduct its activities elsewhere due to the same construction project.

After being located at East Cobb Middle School during that time, the team is now back on campus, in a separate building in the back parking lot that was a practice gym.

A new $307,000 robotics lab recently opened at Walton, approved last year by the Cobb Board of Education with funding from the Cobb Education SPLOST V.

Cobb County School District and Walton officials and dignitaries, including longtime former Principal Judy McNeill, were on hand for a ribbon-cutting and demonstration from Robotics Team members.

One of the hallmarks of the Walton Robotics program is community outreach, as team members visit with students from Title I schools such as Powers Ferry Elementary, and also with students at Eastvalley and Timber Ridge elementary schools.

“We’re not just about building a robot,” said Anish Saknuratri, a Walton Robotics team member who dedicates about 50 hours per week to the team, according to a release from the Cobb school district. “We also like to tell our team story, saying, ‘we built this robot. Yes, it’s amazing. We’re a championship robot, but we also give back to our community, and that’s what’s more important to us.’”

Last summer the team played host to a summer robotics camp for Cobb elementary and middle school students, and they’ve mentored robotics students at Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools.

There are more than 40 members of the Walton Robotics Team, which was formed in 2009 and has won numerous awards from statewide organizations, including the 2019 Peachtree District FIRST FRC Deep Space State Championship.

For more on the new Walton Robotics lab, click here; team information can be found by clicking here.

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