Building a Winning Robotics Team

A team of fourth graders has turned an after-school club into an award-winning robotics team. The new Lower School LEGO Robotics Club, created by Maker Space Director Stewart Mayer and Lower School Science Teacher Aimee Whitaker, began building, programming, and testing LEGO EV3 robots in the Winn Science Center after school. The eight top-scoring students then formed an official team, “Kids Robo Turbo Lions,” to compete in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge. At the January 22 regional qualifiers in Kaufman, the St. Mark’s team finished fourth overall and will advance to the regional championships in March.

 

“This was our first competition, and the boys were the youngest team there by far, so this is a huge accomplishment,” said Mr. Mayer, who served as the team's Coach for this competition. “The grit they demonstrated is on par with our Upper School Robotics Club. They maintained a positive attitude in a new and stressful situation and worked well as a team.”

 

The St. Mark’s team also received the Core Values Award, given to “a team that displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit, knows they can accomplish more together than they could as individuals, and shows each other and other teams respect at all times.” Additionally, Mr. Mayer received the tournament’s Coach/Mentor Award.

 

“The team’s results say so much about who these boys are becoming,” said Sherri Darver, Head of Lower School. “They represent what a Marksman aspires to be: dedicated, passionate, responsible, and respectful, just to name a few traits. And Mr. Mayer’s award is no surprise either. His love of robotics is contagious, and these digital natives certainly latched onto his love of this sport.”

 

Congratulations to the fourth-grade LEGO Robotics Club: Cooper Allen, Wils Brous, John Griggs, Elliot Harder, Ryan Jarratt, Wyatt Mayer, Halston Miller, and Corbin Reed. 

 

This year’s competition, themed Cargo Connect, challenged boys to program their robots to load, unload, and deliver cargo across a four-by-eight-foot playing field. Teams could pick from 17 possible missions to complete within two and a half minutes. The robots must operate autonomously, meaning the boys had to program every movement precisely and not interfere as the robot worked.  

 

Organized by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), this annual competition tasks students with building robots from a kit of LEGO electronic and mechanical components and then programming it to complete various autonomous missions. The FIRST LEGO League Challenge also mirrors the BEST Robotics Competition in which the Upper School Robotics Team competes.