The space that once housed Sears in Uptown Hot Springs was turned into a robot battle arena for K-12 students across the state last week in the annual VEX Robotics Championships.
Typically held at Arkansas Tech University, event coordinator Sarah Burnett said ATU's COVID-19 pandemic "recovery plan" doesn't allow large gatherings, requiring them to think "outside the box," which landed the competition inside Uptown Hot Springs, formerly known as Hot Springs Mall.
"We talked to the general manager and he was open with wanting to have a community event, so the space actually works out perfectly," Burnett said. "We have lots of extra room, people are able to spread out, social distance, and we can still have our tournament."
From Tuesday through Friday, the VEX Robotics Championships saw 76 teams made up of K-12 students statewide compete with the robots they created from VEX parts over the past year.
"This is a VEX Robotics competition, so all of the parts and equipment come through VEX Robotics. What's good about VEX, is you can only use VEX parts, so all the schools are on an equal playing field," Burnett, who is also the director of the STEM Education Collaborative at ATU, said.
Video not playing? Click here https://www.youtube.com/embed/tWO62pURLxs
"It doesn't matter how much money you have, no matter how big of a school you are, you are limited to just VEX parts, and you're limited to make a certain size robot," she said. "So it doesn't matter how many pieces you have, if you can't get it to shrink down into that size, it's not going to do you any good. So all the teams are on equal playing fields."
All year long, students across the state have worked toward this competition.
"We have teams that will have a program, a builder, a driver and then a notebook," Burnett said. "They start out with strategizing, problem-solving, critical thinking. You know, 'What do I need to do in order to be successful this year at this year's game?'
"So they start with that, then they start building, they start programming, and throughout the year as they compete, or as they practice, they find out things they need to change, or they need to do better, and so they have to document that.
"We have people on the team that have all different kinds of roles, and they come from all different kinds of backgrounds. So we have kids that love to program, but then we have kids that love just to build, and then kids that love to drive. So we have teams that are made up of all different types of kids."
During this unprecedented year, Burnett said perseverance has been the key to success for students in this competition.
"Being able to persevere through not getting to go to competitions, we have changed to doing virtual competitions ... and these kids have not given up all year," she said. "They've just persevered and worked through all their problems."
For those who were successful in last week's competition, they will now move on to the VEX World's Championship, a VEX Robotics competition that consists of almost 70 countries competing against one another.
Local teams moving on to the VEX World's Championship are Lakeside Elementary and Middle Schools.
Typically held in Dallas, the COVID-19 pandemic will once again displace the competition, and this year's VEX World's Championship will be held virtually. The upside? Viewing the VEX World's Championship will be easier than ever.
For more information, or to view the virtual VEX World's Championship that will take place May 17-22, visit vexworlds.com.
