Ohio County Robotics Students Take On World Championships
Trending
WHEELING - Robotics students from Wheeling Park High School are already in Dallas for the Vex Robotics World Championship, and middle school competitors from Ohio County Schools will be arriving there today.
On Tuesday morning, the high school students were at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Arena in Dallas setting up their stations for the competition. Opening ceremonies were to take place Tuesday evening, explained JoJo Shay, innovation coordinator for the school district.
The three teams of high school students flew to Texas on Monday - but their robots did not, she continued. Shay and Amy Minch, attendance director for Ohio County Schools, instead drove 17 hours across America to Texas with the robots as passengers.
Six teams of middle school students boarded a charter bus from Bridge Street Middle School at 4 p.m. Tuesday to take the same route and arrive in Dallas sometime today.
Ohio County middle school robotics students line up Tuesday afternoon outside Bridge Street Middle School to board a bus for the Vex Robotics World Championships in Dallas. (Photo by Joselyn King)
In total, there are nine robotics teams and 39 students going to the world championships, with eight chaperones accompanying them. They are all expected to return by bus and be back in Wheeling on Sunday.
Shay and Minch, meanwhile, don't expect to be back until Monday.
"We needed a vehicle we can drive around in Dallas while we are there so we can go get whatever is needed," Shay explained. "We'll be feeding about 50 people when everybody is here."
She said the experience so far in Dallas has "been great." After the high school students arrived Monday, there was relaxation time and the group had dinner together. The group was to check in on Tuesday, and this was to be followed by a skills exhibition, inspections and the opening ceremonies.
The high school competition begins today, with similar events for the middle school students beginning Thursday.
Many of the students and chaperones attended the Vex Robotics World Championships in Dallas last year, and are now familiar with the area.
"We know what to do now, and having experienced people made our morning better," Shay said. "The hardest thing has been driving in downtown Dallas."
For some of the students, going to Dallas involved their first time flying in an airplane. Shay also expects a drive across America will be an experience for middle schoolers.
"This is not just about robotics. This is about life experience," she said.