Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Downingtown students participate in robotics competition
Nearly 60 teams from across the state competed
UWCHLAN >> Nearly 60 robotics teams recently competed from all over the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Brandywine Robotics, the parent nonprofit group supporting the Vexmen VRC (Vex Robotics Competition) teams, hosted its first Vex Robotics tournament of the 2016-2017 season on Feb. 4 at the Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center.
The Downingtown Open included 29 high school teams and 26 middle school teams from all over Pennsylvania. This year’s game, Starstruck, involves strategically collecting, manipulating, and relocating the stars and cubes which make up the game’s elements. An alliance of two teams competes with another alliance of two teams in each match. Teams competed in qualifying matches and then advanced to elimination matches, culminating in a final match to determine tournament champion.
Event organizers announced the following winning teams in the high school division: Tournament Champions: teams 91C (Vexmen), 169Y (Haverford School); 4001A (Parkland High School); tournament finalists: teams 9502A (Liberty High School); 81H (Vexmen), 81N (Vexmen); Excellence Award: team 91C (Vexmen); Design Award: team 1267C
(Delaware County Christian School); and judges award: team 80F (Vexmen).
Event organizers announced the following winning teams in the middle school division: Tournament Champions: teams 169D (Haverford School); 1274A (Igneous Robotics), 80V (Vexmen); tournament finalists: teams 80G (Vexmen), 80F (Vexmen), 90F (Vexmen); Excellence Award: team 169D (Haverford School); Design Award: team 169D (Haverford School); and judges award: team 9502A (Liberty High School). The students meet from
September until April annually to design, build, compete, redesign, rebuild, compete with the hopes of moving onto the VEX CREATE to be held in Council Bluffs, Iowa in April and the VEX Worlds is held in Louisville, Kentucky in April.
The purpose of the Vexmen is to provide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) robotics, educational, scientific, and charitable opportunities for K-12 youth through participation in VEX Robotics (www.vexrobotics.com), FIRST (www.usfirst.org), and similar events/competitions
along with corresponding activities.
The long-term interest of Brandywine Robotics group is providing educational opportunities to guide youth into STEM based continuing education and careers. The Vexmen under Brandywine Robotics is the largest registered Vex Robotics club globally having more than 160 students competing across 37 different teams. The majority of the students are from the Downingtown Area School District. Those students meet twice a week at the Sixth Grade Center to practice.