Robotics competition Saturday at 4Cs

More than 100 high school students from across the Cape and Islands and southeastern New England are meeting at Cape Cod Community College this Saturday for the first-ever “Vex Robotics” regional qualifying competition on Cape Cod.

"It’s a very cool even that showcases STEM ingenuity and creativity," said Patrick Stone, the college's communications and marketing director. "It really is a lot of fun to watch up-close."

Spectators are welcome at 4Cs' Life Fitness Center from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking lots 11 and 12 – the last two parking lots before exiting the campus – are the closest to the action.

Participating students use engineering design concepts and computer coding skills to design, build, and program hand-held controller-operated robots using kits received from the Robotics Education Foundation (REC).

Through REC Foundation funding secured by the Cape Cod Regional STEM Network and Mashpee School District, 25 new Cape and Islands high school Vex teams received a robot kit worth $1,400 each. Funding secured through the 4Cs STEM Starter Academy provided the competition equipment for both middle and high school competitions. This is the first time students will be able to compete in Vex robotics qualifying tournaments without leaving Cape Cod.

Participants delve deep into the engineering design learning process, with hours spent designing, building, programming, and testing robotics in preparation for the competition. Through teamwork, they combine creative research, systematic observation, technical communication, strategic analysis, structural design, and computer programming to develop their robot inventions for the local tournament.

There will be 36 teams competing in a game called “Tower Takeover,” which is played on a 12x12-foot field by "alliances," which are made up of two teams each.

Driver-controlled robots pick up and deposit 5.5" color cubes into towers and goal zones, and the alliance with the most points wins each timed match.

The event is designed to foster students' collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills. The VEX Robotics competition prepares students to become future innovators, with 95 percent of participants reporting an increased interest in STEM subject areas and pursuing STEM-related careers.