Robots designed by students from the TBAISD Career Tech Center Manufacturing Technology Academy received top awards at the 2014 National Robotics Challenge held recently in Marion, Ohio.

A team led by three young women from Glen Lake, Kalkaska and Forest Area took first place in the Manufacturing Robotic Work Cell contest and won the Honda Innovation Award for their "Making Melodies" work cell. The cell used a robotic arm and components from an aquarium to fill stemmed glasses with water to the precise level that would allow them to produce the musical tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when tapped by a simple baton.

A team of three young men from Frankfort, Kingsley and Buckley took first place in the Robot Construction contest with their "Garden Defender," which is designed to visually track and discourage rodents and other large garden pests from destroying valuable vegetation.

In addition, the Academy fielded two robots which took first and second place in the Rescue Robot contest.

These and other student-built robots will be on display during the Michigan Mathematics, Engineering and Science Symposium on May 21, 6-8 p.m. at the Hagerty Center in TC.