Students Rely on STEM Skills at Robot Expo Competition
The excitement in the air was palpable as students anxiously made last-minute adjustments to prepare their robots for competition at the seventh annual Robot Expo.
Nearly 200 students from four elementary schools (Montvue, Kingsley, Collegewood and Evergreen) and two middle schools (Suzanne and Emerson) converged in the hope of taking home medals and bragging rights at the event held by the College of Education & Integrative Studies on April 25 at Fairplex.
The faces of several students lit up as they surrounded the robots in the Sumo ring, cheering on their team with shouts of “Royals, royals, royals!” A student from Kingsley Elementary School exclaimed, “I’m just glad we have a chance to win!”The serious side of the event was drowned out by the excited screams and cheers of students.
“The experience is fun for students and designed to ignite a passion for math,” CEIS Associate Professor César Larriva said.
The School Robotics Initiative (SRI) program collaborates with classroom teachers to promote student classroom learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
SRI serves approximately 700 students from diverse backgrounds and achievement levels each year. Students develop expertise in robotics design, construction and programming in preparation for the Robot Expo, while learning STEM subject matter content.