Ferndale students turn junk electronics into robots

KIRA MILLAGE - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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FERNDALE - At Windward High School, broken CD players, VCRs and computer towers aren't just junk. They're the guts for cars and robots in the school's electronics class.

Now in its second year, the electronics class allows students to learn about circuits and robotics and then build their own creations to demonstrate their mastery of the subject. This is, of course, after students cannibalize other electronics to get the parts they need.

"I thought our school really needed an electronics class," said Chuck Schelle, the science teacher behind it. "A class like this gives kids a chance to build and apply science and math to something like robots."

PHILIP A. DWYER | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD |

The class fits with Windward, an alternative high school for students who do better in smaller class settings and have an interest in technology.

When the class started last fall, Schelle had enough funding to purchase "starter kits" for some of the projects. But since then "we've been left to our own devices," he said.

That's why students collect "junk" electronics and dismantle them for parts. The remains - plastic, aluminum, tin and copper - are recycled for cash, which is then used to purchase items like solder and batteries, said Bethany Hasper, a sophomore students and teaching assistant for the class.

Students started the year with a simple-sounding project: light a light bulb using only a battery and one wire.

"Most students say, 'I need two wires,' or 'I need something else,'" Hasper said. "It's interesting to see what they can do."

All other class projects, including creating an electronic moving action figure, will build on the basics of lighting the light bulb, giving students hands-on opportunities to test their designs.

On Monday, Oct. 6, students got a chance to show off their first moveable electronic creations - "junk cars" created from the piles of scavenged circuit boards, wires and motors.

"I enjoy the car challenge because you actually get to use what you know and you get to see it work," said Garrett Lathrop, 15.

"It's more interesting than worksheets," added his teammate, Bianca Crouse, 15.

The duo's car, The Juggernaut, was the ultimate victor of the junk car competition. The car featured a motor from a VCR and wheels and other parts from a scanner and a printer.

"We just found stuff and put it together and made it as light as possible," Lathrop said.