NORTHERN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKE TOP HONORS AT THE KENTUCKY MIDDLE SCHOOL STATE VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION
Local Team Secures a Spot at the VEX Robotics World Championship
Somerset, KY – March 5th, 2018 – Northern Middle School VEX Robotics team students secured a 1st place win at the VEX Middle School Division State Robotics Competition in Elizabethtown, KY, this past weekend. Students competed with and against the best 30 teams out of the roughly 150 robotics program across the state of Kentucky. The action-packed day required middle students to execute the 2017-2018 VEX Robotics Competition game, In the Zone, which is played by stacking cones on goals, by scoring cones on mobile goals in goal zones, by having the highest stacks, and by parking robots.
As state tournament champions, the team qualified for a position to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship.
Northern Middle School’s VEX Robotics Competition team is comprised of 4 robotic teams (650M, 650N, 650P, and 650S) with team members ranging in ages from 11 to 14. To prepare for the tournament, the group worked together to design, build and program a robot using VEX EDR. The completed robotic project quickly and efficiently solved specific challenges that come with playing the 2017-2018 VEX Robotics Competition game, In the Zone.
Each week, the students apply what they have learned about STEM in the classroom, to build the semi-autonomous machines. An equally important set of skills is learned through the competition -- communication, project management, time management and teamwork.
Before competition season starts Northern Middle’s VEX Robotics team meets on Tuesday and Thursdays after school. Once competition season starts, on average the team meetings increase to 4 days per week. The students learn about electronics, programming, mechanical systems, animation, 3D CAD, computer aided machining, web design, and materials fabrication.
Northern Middle’s Robotics Team will be competing in the upcoming 2018 VEX Robotics Middle School Division World Championship tournament help in Louisville, Kentucky, April 25th - 28th at the Kentucky Expo Center.
VEX Competitions are recognized as the largest and fastest growing competitive robotics programs for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and college aged students around the world. VEX Competitions represent over 20,000 teams from 45 countries that participate in more than 1,500 VEX Competition events worldwide. The competition season culminates each spring, with VEX Robotics World Championship, a highly-anticipated event that unites top qualifying teams from local, state, regional and international VEX Robotics Competitions to crown World Champions. More information about the VEX Robotics Competition is available at RoboticsEducation.org, RobotEvents.com and VEXRobotics.com
