Patchogue Medford High School’s FIRST Robotics Team 329 got a visit last week from their Chinese counterparts from the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province.
The Chinese team, Rookie FRC Team 6414, made its debut in the Greater Pittsburgh Regional, earning the Rookie All-Star Award and entry into the Houston Championship.
Last Tuesday, the Chinese team was at Patchogue-Medford High School in Medford, where the two groups posed for pictures. They then broke up into smaller groups to get to know one another better, and tour the robotics lab.
During the day they got to learn about one another’s countries and cultures.
The hope is that next year, the Chinese team will become the second team to participate in the club’s STEP (Support and Team Exchange Program) program.
In 2016, Team 329 initiated and tested the program, which 329 conceived, by inviting FIRST Robotics Team 1156 Under Control from Brazil to participate for the School-Business Partnerships of Long Island Regional.
Team 329 members had Team 1156 members stay in their homes and attend classes with them, while spending much free time working on robots together in the lab.
Source: Information and photos courtesy of team adviser Bunnie Schiller.
