This week, the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at Stevens hosted Build IT. An underwater LEGO robotics competition for middle school and high school students, Build IT was partially funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and Motorola this year, which allowed almost 30 area schools to participate.
Each team’s goal was to create a robot, using LEGOs and up to four motors, that could be submerged into a pool and complete specified tasks. The prize categories included Innovation and Speed, in addition to the overall Main Competition. The teams gathered on campus on the Babbio Patio to test out their robots, while judges, classmates, the media and other onlookers cheered them on.
After an intense competition, the winners were announced by Dean Daniel Gallagher at the closing ceremony held in DeBaun Auditorium. Dean Gallagher started the ceremony by telling the students: “This competition is about more than just building, it’s about creativity, design and innovation. If you continue to foster those skills, and you challenge yourself to think like a problem-solver, you will be able to develop the solutions needed in today’s world.”
The Innovation Award, which was assessed by combining originality and performance of each team’s robot, went to Henry Beck Middle School in Cherry Hill, NJ and Technology High School of Newark. The Speed Trial Award went to Valley View Middle School of Watchung, NJ and Passaic County Technical Institute (HS) in Passaic, NJ.
There were three prizes for the Main Competition for both middle school and high school teams. For the middle school competition, Lincoln Park (NJ) Middle School placed first, with Henry Beck Middle School and Ann Street School (Newark) placing second and third respectively. The high school winners were Technology High School in first place, Hoboken High School in second, and Robbinsville High School of Washington Township, NJ placing third.
Lincoln Park Middle School
Technology High School
Congratulations to the winners and all of the participating schools!!
