Clairton Bears Compete in their First Robotics Competition of the Season

By Brynn Harshbarger (STEM Program Instructor)

Our Bears have been building and practicing for months to prepare for the first Woodland Hills Competition of the season. On December 12th, middle school teams from all around Pittsburgh came together to compete in the VEX IQ Robotics Competition! In this year’s game, Mix and Match, teams work together to score as many points as possible by stacking pins and beams. While it may sound simple, there are many variables that factor into being able to compete successfully.

First, our teams built their hero bot, Huey. Teams followed detailed build instructions to assemble Huey, a unique robot capable of omnidirectional movement and stacking pins. Next, they learned how to pair Huey to their controllers and practiced navigating their robots around the game field. Finally, students studied the rules of the game and ran practice scrimmages.

And, all of their hard work paid off! Clairton Bears Team A placed 4th out of 31 teams! During competition, students networked with other teams and strategized how to score as many points as possible during their alliance rounds. Teams also competed in driving skills challenges, where they got work with just their own teammates to drive their robots around the field and score points.

Our students had a blast and are excited to get to work improving their robots for the next competition. VEX IQ Robotics Competitions create opportunities for students to practice the Engineering Design Process and collaborate with other students. They are learning skills that will help them in their future careers and lives and having fun while doing it! Thank you to our sponsor, Eden Hall, for making this incredible experience possible for Clairton Students.

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