CRESTVIEW — Bob Sikes Elementary School's robotics team, which won the Jan. 30 First LEGO League Regional Qualifying Championship tournament, is among three North Okaloosa County teams advancing to the Feb. 13 Panhandle Regional Tournament.
Robotics students from as far away as Tallahassee and Panama City met at Davidson Middle School this past weekend as DMS robotics teacher Tim Sexton and his students hosted the “Trash Track Challenge"-themed event.
Teams represented also included Shoal River Middle School, Mary Esther Elementary, the Okaloosa STEMM Academy and the Emerald Coast Science Center.
“Everyone was trying to solve a problem with trash, such as picking up garbage or recycling,” Sexton said.
Bob Sikes', Davidson's and Shoal River's teams will advance to regional competition, which will take place at Northwest Florida State College. The non-profit Doolittle Institute sponsors the competition.
Local engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul Hsu, and retired Troy University professor and technology proponent Dennis Mitchell said the robotics events should prepare students for promising careers.
“No doubt an event like this will lead more of our students into the technical fields in the future," Hsu said.
Hsu has encouraged increased local excellence in science, technology, engineering and math studies as he plans to expand North Okaloosa County's technology-driven industries.
“The level of enthusiasm with these couple of hundred youngsters was only matched by the confidence these future technologists possessed,” Mitchell said.
“I just want to see more schools in North Okaloosa to participate,” Hsu said.
“This is the time we need to ‘lead more horses to water.’”
First LEGO League teams (up to 10 members of fourth- through eighth-graders) research a real-world problem and develop a solution.
Two or more adult coaches guide them as they design, build, program a robot using a LEGO Mindstorms kit, and compete on a table-top playing field.
Competitors develop problem-solving skills using science, technology, engineering and math concepts, plus their imagination.
The local regional competition is sponsored by the Doolittle Institute at Northwest Florida State College.
Source:www.FirstInspires.org
WHAT IS FIRST LEGO LEAGUE?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bullpups win robotics qualifying competition held in Crestview