By: Michelle Kinsey—
Muncie, IN—Robotics Team 1720 PhyXTgears is moving out of Madjax (514 E. Jackson St.) and into a new warehouse location north of Muncie.
“PhyXTGears had an opportunity pop up that we had to jump on,” said Shawn VanNess,” robotics team president. “We will be moving soon into a new permanent home in Matthews.”
Matthews is located about 16 miles north of Muncie in Grant County.
This will also mean a name change for the team. “We will be changing our 501(c)(3) name to East Central Indiana Robotics and remain a community-based team with a more centralized location between Muncie and Marion,” VanNess said. “This will open up our award-winning program to more students in a larger area that is lacking what we can provide.”
Team 1720 PhyXTGears (pronounced “fixed gears”), first competed in 2005. Last season, PhyXTGears had 29 student members and 17 student and adult mentors from Delaware County and beyond. The new build season kicks off in January (the team also meets during the off-season for other competitions, workshops and more).
“We have had three wonderful years in the awesome Madjax and are sad to go, but look forward to our new home in the next month or two,” VanNess said. Before the move to Madjax, the team met in the former Morrison Mock school building.
PhyXTGears is part of FIRST, a non-profit organization that focuses on inspiring students in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). FIRST, among other things, sponsors this international robotics competition where high school students and adult mentors get a chance to express their excitement about technology and compete in a challenging and fun atmosphere.
Learn more about the team and follow the big move on Facebook or at https://phyxtgears.org.
