Hundreds of students compete in Robotics State Championship at the Resch Center
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WFRV) – Wisconsin middle and elementary school students went head to head in the Vex Robotics State Championship this weekend at the Resch Center.
Thirty-six elementary school teams and 48 middle school teams competed for a spot at the World Championship in Dallas. Organizers say it is about far more than just robots.
“It’s also about collaboration. It’s about teamwork. These are our future engineers, doctors, STEM professionals,” Nick Nolte, President of Fox Valley Robotics says.
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One of those future engineers is 8th-grade Neenah Middle School student Joseph Buttron who competed with his club Rocket Robotics.
Joseph says, “I really like it because we have to adapt, because there are so many things that could go wrong, and you have to know what to do in each situation.”
Rockets Robotics assistant coach Crystal Schalliol also says creating robots has brought many students out of their shells.
“We have a lot of kids that come in that are very quiet and shy, and they find their niche. They find who they fit in with and they make lifelong friendships,” Schalliol says.
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The same can be said for the elementary school students with Winnecone Robotics. The club’s assistant coordinator Mike Nielsen says, “It’s not about just the robot they’re building. They have to learn how to communicate and work with others. They do all the programming themselves, just all the life skills they’re learning while they think they’re playing with a robot. The overall picture this gives them is just amazing.”
Three elementary teams and five middle school teams qualified for the World Robotics Championship. For a full list of results, click here.
