Tech-trailblazers of today and tomorrow had the chance to show off their savvy at Barrie's first Train in Technology Expo at the Barrie Molson Centre.
Obi Page, 17, and Cybergnomes Robotics teammate Travis Moxham, 13, displayed their big wiffle ball shooting robot.
Page says it took 50 hours a week to complete the bot in six weeks.
"It's a 120-pound piece of metal that we built from scratch," he said. "It shoots wiffle balls. That's my favourite part about it and they go far. They shoot probably about ten to twelve feet up in the air and anywhere from six to ten feet away."
The event showcased tech-related careers and education opportunities across a variety of different tech sectors from manufacturing to health and right through to digital media.
The Tech Expo allowed students to 'dive into technology' with lots of hands on fun, said organizer Stephannie Schlichter, Director of Business Development at the City of Barrie.
"A lot of the opportunities in technology are still very much emerging — the jobs of the future and we want to make sure our companies have the talent here to grow and thrive in Barrie," said Schlichter.
The Skills Canada Competition for the Simcoe County District School Board was also part of the expo and teacher Nick Belton from Bradford District High school had students taking part.
They were competing for the school board championship against Collingwood Collegiate and Nottawasaga Pines.
The students' robots had to score points by firing little foam footballs.
Belton was impressed with the Tech Expo.
"It's pretty cool. I thought it was pretty awesome we were able to get the high school in a technology expo that's going on in the city. We've got companies from around town that a lot of people may not be familiar with, students included, that their business is automation so it's great to have students out here to see professional pathways."
Marissa Reevie, 15, is a member of the community-based robotics team called JavaWockies from Springwater.
She says building robots is 'really cool.'
"You learn a lot of new skills that you didn't know before. How to use a lot of tools, trial and error is a big part of it."
Older brother Taylor Reevie, 17, wants to pursue a career in software engineering and has learned a lot about coding from robotics.
Pro-tip: robots have personalities.
"All the negative things about them you would call the personality," he said.
The Barrie Police robot was a big attraction among the more than two dozen exhibitors.
The Train In Technology Expo is open to 7 p.m. and is free to the public.
