Greenville, TX - December 21, 2015 - One of the more seasoned and experienced teams in the VEX Robotics Competition, VEXcalibur—Team 3018V from Council Bluffs, Iowa—has participated for the past four years in the middle school division. The team began because Jason Plummer’s youngest son was too young to participate on the high school robotics team, where his older brother and sister were members. The team focused on designing, building, and programming their robots in their first year of competition and began participating in the Online Challenges the following year. The team regularly breaks off in pairs to pursue a variety of the challenges and finished in second place for their submission to 2015 CAD Challenge, “Wire Clip, Take 2.”
“The entire team was excited about the CAD challenge and the idea of creating a new part. The whole team helped brainstorm ideas for new parts that they would like to see and use, and the team members working on the CAD Challenge took those ideas and decided to pursue the wire clip,” said Plummer.
The students were new to CAD and approached the project with the intent of making something simple but useful. To design the wire clip, they used Autodesk Inventor and found the software easy to use and they liked the formatting options. Importing VEX part files was a snap and enabled the students to build a sample robot and allowed them to easily demonstrate how to use the new device they created.
“Fortunately, the team also has an adult mentor and team parent who was experienced in CAD,” Plummer continued. “He was willing to teach the students how to use the program and was available when they had questions or needed help.”
When they completed their drawing for the CAD Challenge, they worked with a local company to make a 3D-print of the wire clip. “The team was thrilled to see a functional prototype of their design and it helped them understand how the CAD design process is applied to robotics,” said Plummer. “We were glad to see Autodesk add this to the challenge for this year.”
This season VEXcaliber is hard at work on their robot. The team took home the Design Award at November’s Southern Iowa VEX Qualifier, and with a few early wins they are hoping to qualify for VEX Worlds, which would be their first trip as a team. Join us in wishing them well!
Teams this season are invited to enter the Make It Real CAD Engineering Challenge, sponsored by Autodesk, this season for an opportunity to focus your passion for CAD to solve a real world design issue and engineer your own robotics part!
GREENVILLE, TX – October 7, 2015 – The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation has received a generous $20,000 challenge grant from Microchip Technology Inc.—a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions headquartered in Chandler, Arizona—to support the growth of the VEX IQ Challenge and the VEX Robotics Competition in Arizona. Through the grant, the REC Foundation and Microchip will invite other businesses and organizations to support the effort and double the grant, which would provide $40,000 to fund 32 new robotics teams and support VEX Robotics events.
“We are excited to support VEX Robotics, where students can learn Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in a fun, hands-on engineering challenge building robots for competition,” said Steve Sanghi, President and CEO of Microchip. “We have a responsibility to our children to offer opportunities for them to engage, take risks and actually build things. With VEX, they also learn teamwork, project management, critical thinking and working on a deadline. By offering a matching grant, we hope to excite potential sponsors to support educational efforts and improve our community.”
“Microchip is a long-standing supporter of youth robotics, and we are grateful for their many contributions to expand the reach of the VEX IQ Challenge and VEX Robotics Competition in Arizona,” said Jason Morrella, President, REC Foundation. “I welcome the opportunity to work with other organizations to bring sustainable, curriculum-based robotics engineering programs to more students across the state.”
Through its community-involvement programs, Microchip supports the VEX IQ Challenge for elementary and middle-school students, and the VEX Robotics Competition, for middle and high-school students, to engage students in STEM, creating the next generation of leaders in these fields. Microchip supports a number of teams in the area, and also coordinates the VEX IQ Challenge Arizona State Championship, which will be held at Microchip, Chandler on Saturday, February 27, 2016. At the State Championship, teams will vie for coveted qualifying spots to attend VEX Worlds, the season’s culminating event that will bring together 1,000 of the best teams from around the world to crown a robotics world champion across three divisions: the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition and VEX U.
The REC Foundation currently supports well over 12,000 teams in 33 countries around the world. In Arizona, over 200 teams competed at more than 30 events last year. The program encourages students to design, build and program a robot that can solve an annual game challenge. The 2015-16 season is now open with the VEX IQ Challenge game Bank Shot, and the VEX Robotics Competition game Nothing But Net. The new games were announced at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky on April 17, 2015. For more information about the REC Foundation, the VEX IQ Challenge and the VEX Robotics Competition, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
About the REC Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.
About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com.
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GREENVILLE, TX – September 30, 2015 – The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation announced partnerships with two school districts in Florida and Kentucky to bring the VEX IQ Challenge and VEX Robotics Competition to students and teachers at more than 170 schools.
In Florida, the REC Foundation partnered with Alachua County Public Schools to bring the VEX IQ Challenge and the VEX Robotics Competition to all 36 schools in the district by the end of the 2016-2017 school year.
Likewise, in Kentucky, Jefferson County Public Schools will offer the VEX Robotics program to educators and students at 30 schools each year, reaching all 135 schools with grants and support from NASA by 2019.
“The REC Foundation applauds the innovative approach of these school districts and we are proud to support their work. Including VEX Robotics in the classroom ensures that students have an opportunity to learn about STEM concepts and apply that knowledge to their competition experience,” said Jason Morrella, president of the REC Foundation. “Taken together, this approach provides a unique real-world experience that students value and will continue to benefit from throughout their lives.”
Dr. Owen Roberts, the Superintendent of Schools in Alachua County in Florida, set a five-year STEAM initiative, part of which commits to offering robotics to students across the district. The initiative kicked off this fall with 24 Alachua County teachers attending a training workshop offered by the REC Foundation so that they may bring the program to students in their classrooms this fall.
In Louisville, Kentucky, Jefferson County Public Schools received grants through the REC Foundation from NASA which will provide robotics kits, teacher training and workshops, and technical assistance. The first training took place August 3-5, 2015 at the Jaegar Education Center. On the final day of training, teachers and students shared what they learned by navigating their robots through the game challenge.
The REC Foundation intends to expand on its work with school districts by offering grant opportunities to support teacher training and provide robotics materials. The grants are intended to support school districts that are committed to providing hands-on robotics experience to every student and to integrate robotics curriculum in the classroom.
The REC Foundation currently supports well over 12,000 teams in 33 countries around the world. The program encourages students to design, build and program a robot that can solve an annual game challenge. The 2015-16 season is now open with the VEX IQ Challenge game Bank Shot and the VEX Robotics Competition game Nothing But Net. The new games were announced at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky on April 17, 2015. For more information about the REC Foundation, the VEX IQ Challenge, and the VEX Robotics Competition, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.
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GREENVILLE, Texas – July 3, 2015 – Students from the following schools secured top honors at the Technology Student Association (TSA) National Conference VEX Robotics Championship that took place in Dallas, Texas, this past week. In the VEX IQ Challenge, Team 23059B from Holman Middle School in Glen Allen, Virginia, received the Excellence Award, the highest honor in this division. While Team 8434Z from Haile Middle School in Bradenton, Florida, and Team 9084T the Chrome Broncos from Richardson, Texas, received the Teamwork Champion Award. In the VEX Robotics Competition, Team 2131D from Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, received both the Excellence Award and the overall Tournament Champion Award at the event. The second and third place Tournament Champions in the VEX Robotics Competition were Team 7232B and Team 7232 the Cyber Pirates from Belton High School in Belton, Missouri.
The students took part in three full days of competition with over 80 teams participating from across the United States in conjunction with the 2015 TSA National Conference. Middle School teams competed in the VEX IQ Challenge Highrise, which is played on a 4’x 8’ field as teams work together to achieve the highest score by placing red, blue, and green squares in the designated scoring zone and stacking blocks to build Highrises for additional points. The action-packed competition schedule required middle and high school students to execute the VEX Robotics Competition Skyrise, a game that requires students to maneuver their robots on a 12’x12’ field to score points by scoring colored cubes on floor goals and posts and by building and owning Skyrises. Teams compete in matches consisting of a fifteen-second autonomous period followed by one minute and forty-five seconds of driver-controlled play plus individual Program Skills and Robot Skills Challenges.
“Students competing in the TSA VEX IQ Challenge and VEX Robotics Competition demonstrated keen engineering and teamwork skills this week,” said Jason Morrella, president of the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation. “The REC Foundation is pleased to continue to partner with TSA to engage students in hands-on robotics engineering programs. It’s an experience that provides a strong foundation in STEM that will serve them well throughout their lives.”
To prepare for the competition, the groups of students worked together to design and build a robot using VEX IQ and VEX EDR that could quickly and efficiently solve specific obstacles and challenges that come with playing the 2014-15 games, VEX IQ Challenge Highrise and VEX Robotics Competition Skyrise.
Each week, students apply what they’ve learned about science, technology, engineering, and math in order to build the semiautonomous machines. An equally important set of skills is learned through the competition – design, communication, project management, teamwork, and the importance of composure, as students learn to deal with adversity in maximizing the design and performance of their robots.
The TSA National Conference VEX Robotics Championship is one of a series of VEX IQ Challenge events and VEX Robotics Competitions taking place internationally throughout the year. The REC Foundation manages the VEX IQ Challenge, the VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U, which are the world’s fastest growing competitive robotics programs for students in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. During the 2014-15 season more than 12,000 teams from 33 countries participated in over 1,000 events worldwide. More information about The REC Foundation is available at RobocticsEducation.org and RobotEvents.com.
About the REC Foundation
The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry and the nonprofit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or www.RobotEvents.com.
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GREENVILLE, TX – June 3, 2015 – The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2015 Robomatter Scholarship, valued at $5,000 which invited students participating in the VEX Robotics Competition to submit an essay explaining how their participation in both the VEX Robotics Competition and the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy sponsored Robot Virtual World Competition enhanced their understanding and application of programming. In addition, students were encouraged to share how programing skills and use of ROBOTC improved their robotics experience.
“It’s rewarding to hear that students, like Max Farr, gain valuable hands-on experience in programming through participation in the VEX Robotics Competition,” said Jason Morrella, president of the REC Foundation. “The REC Foundation is extremely grateful to partners, such as Robomatter, who make it possible for students to secure the resources they need to continue their education and pursue a post-secondary degree in STEM.”
The winner of the 2015 Robomatter Scholarship is: Max Farr, VEX Robotics Competition Team 21, from CHAMPS Charter High School in California.
“As our team’s driver and programmer, I rely on ROBOTC’s easy and approachable format to enable me to quickly plan, set up and execute commands that improve our game strategy and overall execution,” said Max Farr. “I also rely on Robomatter’s Virtual World at the beginning of every season to better understand the game and quickly begin brainstorming robot designs.”
The 2015/2016 season is now open with VEX IQ Challenge Bank Shot and VEX Robotics Competition Nothing But Net. The new games were announced at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky on April 17, 2015. For more information about the REC Foundation and the scholarship program, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.
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GREENVILLE, TX – May 28, 2015 – The Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy and the Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men joined forces this season to compete in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) VEX Competition at the organization’s annual meeting in Anaheim, California, in March and the team, 4288Z, won the highly coveted Excellence Award which also qualified the team to attend VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky, in April.
“The REC Foundation’s partnership with the National Society of Black Engineers provides a great entry point for schools like ours, by enabling our students to meet mentors and former VEX participants at NSBE College Chapters at the University of Houston, Rice University, and Texas A &M,” said Astra Zeno, the engineering and computer science teacher at the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy and also a team coach. “Our students are more confident, ask more questions, and became more comfortable with robotics in general after meeting with NSBE college mentors and attending the competitions in Anaheim and Louisville. It’s been amazing to see them find their voice and really embrace all that the robotics experience offers.”
The REC Foundation established a partnership with NSBE last spring to provide robotics team grants to NSBE chapters around the country and engage more students of color in robotics engineering through the VEX Robotics Competition. In addition, NSBE hosted a VEX Robotics Competition at their annual conference which took place in Anaheim in March. The winning team 4288Z, comprised of students from the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy and the Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men, consisted of four boys and five girls, namely: Marcellus Jordan III, Steven Jackson, Luis Torres, Jarmel Brown, Starr Morris, Janet Santacruz, Alyssa Dorelus, Brittany McRae Alvarado and Gloria McRae Alvarado.
The students combined teams last December and took the best elements of each of their robots to engineer a new robot for the competition. Together they effectively broke down the engineering design process to design, build, program and compete with a robot of their own making.
“Having our boys compete alongside the girls in NSBE's inaugural VEX Robotics championship was monumental for the development of our robotics program. Having the girls as equal partners lifted our boys to a much higher level of performance. It was a life-changing experience and we were proud to represent NSBE at the VEX Robotics World Championship,” said Vince Hamilton, Robotics Coach at the Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy.”
The team returned from VEX Worlds with a new appreciation for robotics and have already begun preparing for the new season. The 2015-16 season is now open with VEX IQ Challenge Bank Shot and VEX Robotics Competition Nothing But Net. The new games were announced at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky on April 17, 2015. For more information about the REC Foundation and the scholarship program, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.
About the National Society of Black Engineers
Founded in 1975, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States. With more than 31,000 members and more than 300 chapters in the U.S. and abroad, NSBE supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology. NSBE’s mission is “to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professional and positively impact the community.” For more information, visit www.nsbe.org.
GREENVILLE, TX – May 12, 2015 – The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Texas Instruments Scholarships, which encourages students to share what they’ve learned through robotics to advance their knowledge of robotics engineering.
The winners of the 2015 Texas Instruments Scholarship are: Joshua Osborne, FIRST Robotics Team 3468, from West Monroe High School in Louisiana and Evan Murphy, VEX Robotics Competition Team 5139, Jay M. Robinson High School in North Carolina.
“When I first joined the robotics team, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the future. I knew I liked computers and electricity, but I didn't know how to apply myself in these areas,” said Joshua Osborne. “Working with Texas Instruments products has sparked my interest in electricity and how it flows through computer and robotics systems. Now I plan on majoring in a course involving electricity using the knowledge I have gained from participating in the robotics program.”
“As my VEX IQ Challenge team’s chief programmer, I work almost exclusively with TI’s TM4C microcontroller and download up to a dozen programs a day,” said Evan Murphy. “Participating in robotics has inspired me to pursue a computer science degree to help change the world. I’ve learned that with programming, anything is possible.”
The 2015-16 season is now open with VEX IQ Challenge Bank Shot and VEX Robotics Competition Nothing But Net. The new games were announced at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky on April 17, 2015. For more information about the REC Foundation and the scholarship program, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.
About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is a global semiconductor design and manufacturing company that develops analog ICs and embedded processors. By employing the world’s brightest minds, TI creates innovations that shape the future of technology. TI is helping more than 100,000 customers transform the future, today. Learn more at www.ti.com.
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Greenville, TX – April 20, 2015 – Over the weekend, more than 850 teams from 29 nations gathered at the Kentucky Exposition Center to compete with custom-built robots during three days of intense back-to-back matches. Teams sought to be crowned champions of VEX Worlds 2015, the culminating event of the season, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and the Northrop Grumman Foundation. Teams from China, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States prevailed, taking home the highly coveted Championship Trophies for the VEX IQ Elementary & Middle School World Championships, the VEX Robotics Competition Middle & High School World Championships, and the VEX U World Championship.
The global championship kicked off Thursday with a festive parade of nations, where students from all the teams made their way into Freedom Hall to proudly display their respective country’s colorful flags. Following the parade, the teams began an intense afternoon of back-to-back qualification matches and skills challenges. On Friday, the excitement was palpable as teams continued to run through qualifications, and closed the day with the 2015-2016 New Game Reveal. By Saturday, qualification rounds ended and the top performing teams went through the alliance selection process. A stunning pyrotechnic and light show experience lent a festive atmosphere as teams entered into finals and award ceremonies.
Altogether, the best 850 VEX teams out of more than 12,000 teams worldwide qualified to compete in one of five program divisions hosted by the REC Foundation this past weekend. The competitions included: VEX IQ Challenge Elementary School World Championship (ages 8-10), VEX IQ Challenge Middle School World Championship (ages 11-14), VEX Robotics Competition Middle School World Championship (ages 11-14), VEX Robotics Competition High School World Championship (ages 15-18) and VEX U (ages 18+).
The 2015 VEX Worlds Championship Alliance Winners are as follows:
One team from each of the five program divisions also received the Excellence Award, the highest honor at VEX Worlds, given to the team with the most well rounded VEX Robotics program. Team 15B, Crescent Crazy Stackers, from Crescent Elementary School in Anaheim, Calif. received the Excellence Award for the VEX IQ Challenge Elementary School Division. Team 8899Y, VEXexecutives, from Manatee County Robotics Club in Bradenton, Fla. received the Excellence Award for the VEX IQ Challenge Middle School Division. Team 7700B, Rolling Robots, from Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. was presented with the Excellent Award for the VEX Robotics Competition Middle School Division. Team 2918A, GCECA, from Glenfield College in Auckland, New Zealand received the Excellence Award for the VEX Robotics Competition High School Division. Team AURA, from Auckland University Robotics, in Auckland, New Zealand received the Excellence Award for VEX U Division.
Several other technical and value-based awards were presented to teams throughout the event. Below is a list of the teams and individuals that were recognized for excelling in some of the top categories. For a complete list of award winners, including winners of the online challenges, visit http://www.robotevents.com/championship.
For those looking forward to getting a jump on next year’s robot designs, the 2015-2016 season games will be VEX Bank Shot (VEX IQ Challenge) and VEX Nothing But Net (VEX Robotics Competition).
Sponsors of the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship included the Northrop Grumman Foundation, the U.S. Army, Chevron, EMC Corporation, NASA, Microchip, Robotmatter, Texas Instruments, HEXBUG and Innovation First International. In addition, the event is sponsored locally by Ford Motor Corporation, GE, Glowtouch, HelmsBriscoe, Mathworks, Nissan, Toyota Manufacturing of Kentucky, UPS, and the University of Louisville.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or for details on upcoming events, please visit www.RobotEvents.com.
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Greenville, TX – April 13, 2015 – The 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship kicks off this week! Presented by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation and the Northrop Grumman Foundation, this season finale event showcases the largest and fastest growing educational competitive robotics program in the world! On April 15-18, over 15,000 participants from over 27 countries will come together to put their engineering expertise to the test as they seek to be crowned the 2015 VEX Robotics World Champions.
Annually, the REC Foundation presents a series of robotics engineering programs – VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U – that engage students from elementary school through college in classrooms and at after-school competitions around the world in hands-on technology challenges that build their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Only the most accomplished teams qualify to participate at VEX Worlds, where students’ technological prowess and remarkable ingenuity are on display. These fierce competitors have spent countless hours designing, building, programming and testing their robotics skills at more than 1,000 local, state, and regional competition events. Of the 12,000 teams competing this season, only the top 850 teams will descend on Louisville, Kentucky to strategize and challenge each other with the current 2014-2015 season games: VEX IQ Challenge Highrise and VEX Robotics Competition Skyrise.
“Students’ engineering knowledge and programming skills have been put to the test this year with the VEX IQ Challenge and VEX Robotics Competition games that require innovative solutions built to withstand heated competitions,” said Jason Morrella, president of the REC Foundation. “It’s a true testament to the program’s ability to give students the hands-on experience they need now to incite their passion and drive them to become our future technologists, inventors and problem-solvers.”
At the close of VEX Worlds 2015 on Saturday, April 18, teams will be invited to Kentucky Kingdom, a stunning amusement park just steps from the venue, for a private party. The party will take place from 6:30pm – 12:00am with all Kentucky Kingdom rides and attractions open, dining options and more!
VEX Worlds is FREE and open to the public with fun activities for the whole family! Spectators are welcome and encouraged to watch matches, attend ceremonies, and visit with teams in the pit area as they strategize and prepare their robots for competition.
Sponsors of the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship include the Northrop Grumman Foundation, the U.S. Army, Chevron, EMC Corporation, NASA, Microchip, Robotmatter, Texas Instruments, HEXBUG and Innovation First International. In addition, the event is sponsored locally by Ford Motor Corporation, GE, Glowtouch, HelmsBriscoe, Mathworks, Nissan, Toyota Manufacturing of Kentucky, UPS, and the University of Louisville.
Fans can follow the competition and sign up for real-time competition news and results via live webcasts, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram and YouTube updates. Real time tournament results are also available through “VEX via” - an iPhone and Android compatible app, which provides match schedules, rankings and scores. For more information visit RobotEvents.com/championship.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or for details on upcoming events, please visit www.RobotEvents.com.
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On March 13, the Philadelphia 76ers held their first ever Robotics Night to raise STEM awareness. The 76ers gave us use of the court from 12-3 p.m. to setup, run the tournament, and break down. At 12:30 we began matches. Ten VRC teams and 10 VEX IQ teams ran four matches each. After the matches, two-team alliances competed in the semi finals, and finals. Two Haverford teams, Team 169b and 169y, were Tournament Champions and received their trophy and got their pictures taken on the Court.
Two VEX IQ Challenge Teamwork Finals matches ran during the 76ers pregame show in front of fans who came to see the 76ers defeat the Sacramento Kings. We brought two fields onto the court and had all of the students who competed that day stand behind the fields cheering on the top two alliances as they ran their one minute match. The winning alliance, Team 10497b, the QCS Robo-Bears from Quakertown Christian School in Quakertown, Pennsylvania and Team 3615s, Triangle Robotics of Triangle Elementary School in Triangle, Virginia, got their pictures taken on the court with their trophies.
During the game, we had a VRC field and VEX IQ field set up for fans to stop by and play a game of Robot Freeze Tag. People who had come to the game found themselves out in the concourse having fun driving robots and learning about how to start their own VEX Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Challenge Team.
Special thanks to SySTEMic Solutions for event photography and for helping run the tournament in the afternoon and for iDesign for helping with the robot demonstrations in the Concourse during the basketball game.
