Three days of new friendships, learning, and competition: these were the results of the VEX Maze Challenge robotics competition recently held in Dnipro.
32 children from 12 to 15 learned to design and program robots before competing with their self-made humanoids. Association Noosphere organized a free STEM course and competition using the American VEX Robotics constructor.
On March 27 and 28, competitors were trained to use the VEX IQ platform and to design and program their own VEX IKE humanoid robot using the Blockly programming language.
On March 29, the participants got the chance to compete with their own robots. The children were divided into teams and had to guide the robots through a special maze while carrying balloons. The participants learned not only the technical nuances of controlling the robot, but also to put their knowledge to use as a team.
“I liked it very much. I met a bunch of new and awesome people. I had no experience working with this constructor before, so when the robot started to move, it was really cool. I have already made up another constructor, but VEX is much more interesting”, shared 13-year-old participant Veronika Sabitova.
“I am excited about the competition. Even though we didn’t win, it was an opportunity to make new friends, because there were two people on my team that I didn’t know before”, said 12-year-old Yakym Shevchenko.
Many participants plan to make robotics, engineering, and programming a part of their lives. Some would like to create robots to help with housework, while others are interested in designing robots for work tasks.
“I would like a robot to do my homework for me”, said 12-year-old Yaroslav Hladky.
All participants received gifts from Association Noosphere, along with new experiences and a desire to develop themselves further in robotics.
