AAPS to hold its first annual Elementary Robotics Competition on Friday, April 13

Nearly 100 students will gather at Forsythe Middle School Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. when AAPS hosts its first Elementary Robotics Competition.

“AAPS is proud to host its first annual robotics competition to continue students’ excitement and engagement in STEAM curriculum and what they are learning in PLTW,” said Sarah Schemanske, Project Lead the Way teacher at Wines and Carpenter elementary schools.  “The intent of the AAPS Elementary Robotics Competition is to extend their PLTW knowledge and build of the student enthusiasm and allow participants to foster their interests and explore deeper into the possibility of becoming a future engineer.  It is also a great way to establish a foundational understanding of robotics knowledge for students to build upon and continue exploring if they choose to become members of AAPS middle school and high school robotics teams.”

Teams of students from A2 STEAM, Eberwhite, Lakewood and Wines will compete in the VEX HighRise Challenge trying to move cubes into scoring zones.

Teams have been working on designing robots, mastering driving their robots and creating the most efficient method to achieve points since January. Most teams meet after school on a weekly basis. Teams will be using the same VEX IQ Robotics Kits that are introduced during the 5th Grade PLTW Robotics Modules.

Each robot will be driver-controlled and each team will have two drivers for the match. Drivers will need to switch controls mid-way through the match in between the 25 and 35 second match mark. Team points will be calculated based on total number of points earned during the match and both teams of the alliance will earn the same number of points for the match.

Awards will be given for the following: Elementary Robotics Competition Winner, Elementary Robotics Competition Runner Up, Build Award, Sportsmanship Award and Creative Design Award.