By Jennifer Theurer

Chapman Middle School was well represented at a recent VEX Robotics tournament in Goddard, Kansas. Teams use engineering, problem solving, and programming skills to build robots that can compete in games designed by the VEX Robotics company.

Coach Augustus Anders has 24 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students participating on six teams of four students each. Anders doesn’t divide his teams by age but groups them so all ages and experience levels are working together.

“Robotics is just growing so fast,” he said. “I feel like this program, if they are into robotics or engineering and fields of that nature, it gives them a step up.”

At tournaments, teams are judged by how well they document their design and build process and how well their robot performs with the ultimate goal of scoring well enough to be asked to compete at the state and world levels.

Anders said his favorite thing about VEX Robotics are the skills students learn that they will need in the future but admits there are some very impressive secondary skills his team has learned as well.

“I watched not one of my teams but a different team completely destroy their robot by accident. And one of my teams went over and help them completely rebuild,” he said. “Sure enough, they were able to completely rebuild the robot in time for that other team to do their match.”

Anders appreciates that robotics can give kids who aren’t interested in sports an activity where they can have success and encourages other north central Kansas schools to give it a shot.