March 15th, 2022 marked the 4th Annual ESU 5 Robotics Competition. Seven school districts participated. The Competition is the culmination of two months of preparation for district teams. While districts may engage as many students as they wish throughout the preparation period, districts are limited to teams of 4 on the day of the Competition.
The purpose of the ESU 5 Robotics Competition is to promote algorithmic and design thinking in middle school students (grades 6-8). District coaches met in November to discuss this year’s events. Throughout the months of January and February, students engaged with a Robotics Notebook, preparing students for Competition Day events. Competition Day events included an Autonomous Driver Challenge (coding robots to avoid obstacles while continuing to drive), a RaceTrack Roadster Challenge (building and driving a racecar), and a BattleBot Challenge (all teams participate in a simultaneous Battle Royale).