McCulloch Junior High’s Tech Giants are headed to state finals!
Earlier this year, the Tech Giants Team B earned their state finals berth by claiming the Robot Skills Champion Award during the invitational held at Justice Intermediate School on Feb. for the Frances Slocum Elementary League on Feb. 29.
Congratulations to these skilled and dedicated students on this achievement!
The VEX IQ State Championship is set for this Saturday, March 14, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The event is open to the public, and admission is free. Doors open at 9 a.m., with the opening ceremony set for 9:30 a.m. and competition starting at 10:15 a.m. The competition is the largest VEX IQ state championship in the country, gathering hundreds of robotics teams from elementary, middle, and high school levels to compete.
McCulloch Junior High School’s Tech Giants Team B works to complete the “Mix & Match” skills challenge at the VEX IQ competition held at Justice Intermediate School on Feb. 13. The squad earned a spot at the upcoming VEX IQ State Championship on March 14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Pictured are Justice Intermediate Assistant Principal Amy Siders, JIS teacher Marquita Coleman, and JIS Principal Heather Rumple, and MJH Tech Giants competitors Leland Johnson and Luke Sheetz, both eighth grade; and Jackson Craig, seventh grade.
The VEX IQ Challenge, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, provides students with open-ended robotics and research project challenges that enhance their science, technology, engineering, and math skills through hands-on, student-centered learning. The Marion robotics clubs foster teamwork, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills. Opportunities like this help prepare students to become the next generation of innovators and problem solvers!
This year’s challenge is called Mix & Match, and teams use their robots together with one other or alone to score points by completing specific maneuvers, as outlined by the challenge rules. Marion’s teams have been working for months to design and build their robots, and to practice the required skills. Over the last several months they have competed multiple times a week, including some weekends. We are proud of all of these Giants for their hard work and dedication!
There are school-based robotics clubs in all 92 Indiana counties, with tens of thousands of students involved at thousands of schools across the state. Throughout the season, matches across the state offer qualification opportunities for the state championship. Marion Community Schools’ robotics clubs have been participating in the VEX IQ competitions for several years, and many of our squads have made it to the state level over the past few years. In 2013 a McCulloch squad qualified for the world championships and traveled to Texas to compete!