NORTON SHORES, Mich. — The Lincoln Park Elementary School robotics team is headed to Daytona for the FIRST Robotics Lego League Sunshine Invitational in Florida.
The elementary school's team is the first robotics team from their school to qualify for and compete in an international event.
Brady Searles, a fifth grader at Lincoln Park Elementary School, said he was overwhelmed with excitement when he found out they were going.
"I was probably screaming with joy because I did not expect this at all," said Brady.
The team of three fifth graders and one fourth grader will join 86 other teams from around the world at the international event.
"We've done like so much to get here, so I'm excited," said fifth-grader Aiden Johnson. "I'm also a bit nervous."
Typically practicing in their coach's basement, the team has a long playing field table with a Lego robot programmed to perform tasks and several different Lego models.
Each model is referred to as "a mission."
"They manipulate the models with their hands and then figure out how to recreate that motion with Legos, and then programming on top of it, and then it's just run after run after run," said Coach Tim Searles.
Tim said each season begins with FIRST Robotics announcing the "missions" and releasing videos of the models teams must make.
"The very start of the season, you got to design the attachment," said fourth-grader Rex Fishel.
"Then we have to build the missions," said fifth-grader Amelia McGrane. "Then at the competition, they'll have the exact playing fields and there will be one table on the side, one right on the other, so just both teams would run theirs just how they would regularly do it like at practice."
Competitions involve teams facing off against each other side-by-side on their own tables, each of them having four runs on their robot and two and a half minutes to complete as many missions as possible.
Brady said the mission that was the most challenging for them to complete was the Sound Mixer mission. This mission involved the robot using an arm to lift up three blocks on a raised slate, emulating sound bars on a mixer.
'We looked at our gear ratio and we had a big gear and a little gear and we knew that if we put a little gear down here and a big year up here, it would add more torque, which would help it lift," Brady said.
Teams are evaluated by Robot Design, their team's Innovation Project and Robot Performance. Judges also look to see teams demonstrate the core values: discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun.
The Lincoln Park Elementary team won both the Champions Award, the highest level prize at an event, and the Robot Performance Award at their regional qualifier and state championship.
The team is on track to raise the near $12,000 to send themselves and boosters to Daytona.
"It's been an interesting challenge," said Tim. "I'm incredibly proud of the kids and they deserve the opportunity."
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