Omaha Public Schools middle school, Bluestem Middle School, is sending a team to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championships for the first time in about a decade. The school, which opened this school year, has six dedicated students representing them in the competition. The team is made up of 6th and 7th graders, as the school has not yet enrolled 8th graders.
The VEX challenge this year involves creating a robot that can score points by getting “tri-balls” into the opposite goal. The students must build and program the robot themselves using nuts, bolts, and metal. The robotics coach, Sheri Cohen Vollmer, emphasizes that she is there to guide the students through the process.
One of the team members, 6th grader Dylan Serrano Acosta, expressed his initial excitement for joining the robotics team and his disappointment when their first robot did not meet the size specifications and had to be disassembled. Despite setbacks, the team persevered and learned from their mistakes, eventually finding success in the competition.
Cohen Vollmer describes robotics as the “sport of failing forward,” emphasizing the importance of learning from failures and moving forward. She encourages the students to focus on having fun and learning from each match. By participating in robotics, the students are not only developing technical skills but also important life skills that will serve them well in the future.