The Brandywine School District will host the largest VEX IQ robotics tournament on the Delmarva Peninsula this weekend, bringing together teams from school districts in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania as well as Delaware Library Maker Space teams. Of the 49 teams that are scheduled to participate, 38 are from BSD’s nine elementary schools.
The VEXIQ Extravaganza tournament will be held at Springer Middle School, 2220 Shipley Road in Wilmington, on Saturday, March 23. The first match will begin at 9 a.m., and the finals should be held at approximately 2:45-3:00 p.m., with awards following at 3:30 p.m. Approximately 200 students, most in grades 4 and 5, will compete.
Two very special guests will join the roboteers on Saturday. Governor John Carney is scheduled to visit at 11 a.m. to mingle with the students during competition and offer words of encouragement. At 2:45 p.m., U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester will pay a visit. Prior to the final match of the tournament, she and Cora Scott, BSD Executive Director of Elementary Education, will pair up to play a Teamwork Challenge match against the top-scoring student team as a way to encourage more young women to pursue studies, hobbies, and careers in STEM-related fields. As neither the Congresswoman nor Ms. Scott have any VEX robotics experience, they will receive a short tutorial from students prior to their match.
VEX IQ is the elementary arm of VEX Robotics. Teams of students build robots using the engineering design process: Ask (identify and research a problem), Imagine (develop possible solutions), Plan (select a promising solution), Create (build and test a prototype), and Improve (redesign as needed). The student-built robots are then put to the test in competition. This year’s challenge is called Next Level and involves alliances of teams working together to move and stack pieces on a large playing board to earn points, as well as a timed robot skills challenge.
The Brandywine School District introduced VEX IQ programming in 2017. Students that participated benefited from improved mathematics performance, increased classroom focus, and positive behavior. The following year, the program doubled in size. All Brandywine School District elementary buildings have a robotics program that is supported by teachers, parents, and administrators. BSD’s program is now the largest VEX IQ program in the State of Delaware. Three BSD teams have qualified for the VEX World Championships this spring – two from Claymont Elementary School and one from Springer Middle School.