Students Compete At Minnesota State Robotics Championship in St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A large state tournament took place right here in St. Cloud this weekend. The Minnesota State VEX Robotics Championship was held at the River's Edge Convention Center from Thursday through Saturday. The event saw over 200 teams from elementary through college competing for a chance to go to the World Championship.

Event Partner Katie Frank says it takes a lot of work to get to the State Championship:

"A lot of these teams, they have gone to multiple events throughout this competition season all over the state of Minnesota, and they have won awards through performance as well as judging that have earned them spots to attend this weekend's state championship."

What do the students have to do with their robots?

Frank says each level had a different game or test the robots needed to do, and the students are always excited to take on the challenge:

"On the V5 and the VEX-U side, the students have to build, design, and program their robots to be able to pick up blocks and score them into certain zones, and then they also park their robots at the end of the match. Our IQ students, they are picking up pins, and they are stacking those pins on certain areas of the field to score points."

She says VEX Robotics is a student-centered program, so most of what the students learn is self-taught or student-led learning. The VEX Robotics World Championships will be held in St. Louis from April 21st to 30th.

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