TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple ISD robotics program will soon be represented by not one, but two teams in a state competition.
Temple ISD has announced that both Temple High School’s Wildcat Workforce robotics team and Travis Science Academy’s Lunar Mustangs robotics team earned places in the BEST Robotics State Competition with their performances at a meet hosted by Temple ISD on Nov. 23.
The two teams designed and built robots over a six-week span ahead of the competition, said Temple ISD, which were judged by a variety of factors, including an obstacle course where the robots had to perform various tasks, an engineering notebook explaining the design and construction of the robot and a team exhibit and interviews with judges. Teams could also reportedly get points for "spirit and sportsmanship".
Temple ISD said the Wildcat Workforce team not only earned a spot in the state competition, they also won the award for Most Robust Robot after 22 rounds of competition. Even more impressive? This was the first time the team had competed in the contest.
“I’m kind of surprised that we qualified because none of us had really done this before,” said THS junior Andres Gomez, who was a driver, spotter and programmer for the team. “It has been very busy and stressful because we were in a time crunch. It takes a lot of math and a lot of expertise because it is hard to build a robot from scratch.”
“I didn’t think we were going to make it to state, but we did," added THS senior Zechariah Harris, a driver and spotter for the team. "It has been surreal, cool and fun. I hope they are going to get a chance to go back and compete again next year and that we have kind of laid the foundation.”
Christian Mendez, a teacher in the Temple High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) department, sponsors the team, said TISD. Mendez said he is happy to see the team's success and hopes they are learning lessons beyond just robotics.
“To actually see this go from pieces of wood to the project it is now is amazing because none of us have really done anything like this before,” Mendez said. “I am super proud of them; they are good kids and really want to learn. It is good to see them really put their minds to something and to see that hard work pay off. With hard work and dedication, anything is possible.”
The Travis Science Academy Lunar Mustangs were reportedly the only middle school team to qualify for the state competition, beating out four high school teams to earn their spot. The Lunar Mustangs also won the BEST Award for the team that best embodied the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology and the Best Engineering Drawings Award during the competition.
The Travis Science Academy robotics team is only in its second year, according to TISD, and had never competed against other schools before.
“We provided this opportunity for kids who might not be involved in something else to give them a chance to really shine,” Robotics teacher and team coach Maribeth Brown said. “They are learning problem-solving, collaboration, communication, all of those things they are going to need in high school, college and whatever job they have. We just wanted them to enjoy it, and going to state is so exciting on top of all of that.”
“This has really helped me find what I am passionate about and what I like to do,” said Janiyah Green, an eighth grader at Travis Science Academy. “Taking this class and being on this team has helped motivate me to become an engineer, probably in civil engineering. It is also really cool to qualify for state, especially beating out some high schools.”
“We were a little surprised to make it to state because this is such a new experience,” added Anna Beth Brown, a TSA eighth grader. “I really like the hands-on experience and I have learned so much through this. I want to do something I am passionate about that relates to this field and being part of this team has helped me realize that.”
Brianna Hubnik, the coordinator of CTE for Temple ISD, helped organize and oversee the competition, said the district. She was reportedly not only impressed with the quality of the students' work and happy to see them qualify for state, but she is also excited about what the robotics program’s early success means for the future.
“The kids really had to make some adjustments as they were going along and overcome some things during the competition,” Hubnik said. “Seeing their reaction when they got their robot back to the platform at the end made it all worth it. Then, to see them talk about putting this on their college application and in their essays about what they have done in this program is really exceptional. Watching the middle school kids get really excited and knowing that those kids are going to continue in the program is just going to keep getting better and better.”
The BEST Robotics State Competition will be held December 4-7 in Dallas.