The iSTEAM Academy successfully held the Opening South New England VEX IQ Robotics competition on November 4, 2023, with twelve teams competing in the tournament. Two teams were from Hopkinton, one team from Lexington, four teams from Wellesley Hills, and four teams from Burlington.
VEX IQ Robotics Competition by Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (REC Foundation) offers elementary and middle school students with inspiring, open-ended robotics challenges that enhance their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills through hands-on, student-centered learning (www.roboticseducation.org/vex-iq-robotics-competition/). iSTEAM, a small Lexington-based education organization, is partnering with REC Foundation to provide a full, immersive environment for students to foster teamwork, critical thinking, project management and communication skills.
The competition arena was well organized according to the standard VEX World Competition arena – a VEX IQ Practice Field where teams can prepare themselves and the robotic machines, a VEX Skill Field where team members can further familiar themselves on driving the robotic machine and a VEX IQ Competition Field where two teams can compete in a 1-minute countdown. Teams sit in the Home Table area on both sides of the competition arena, and they come to the Staging Tables before getting on to the Competition Field.
The Judges are professionally certified and were excited to judge each round of competition. All the teams’ scores were projected onto the Big Screen in the middle of the competition arena so that everyone could see how the ranking of each team was and how the tournament was progressing.
The tournament gave parents and spectators a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of what the robotics world is and what kids are aspiring towards – design and creativity, team collaboration, and team spirit. The opening tournament was an eye-opening experience for anyone who is not familiar with the world of robotics and watched how the next generation of innovators create ingenious solutions to the problems that await them in the arena.
Contact iSTEAM Academy at contact@isteamacademy.org for future tournament participations.