Nadine Amaya, volunteer Robotics Coach at Oak Grove Lower Elementary School, wasn’t sure at the beginning of this year that she would have a team that would be able to compete with older and more experienced robotics teams in the area.
So she was presently surprised when her Mad Scientists team – made up of third-graders Olivia Allen, Emma Clingan and Faith Guy – ended the regular season in the Top 10 for Robot Skills, won the state competition held recently at the University of Southern Mississippi, and earned their way to the upcoming VEX IQ World Robotics Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Each year, the number of elementary robotics teams has grown in our state, and my former students that have continued with robotics have improved in their skills each year,” Amaya said. “So at the beginning of this robotics season, although last year I had four second and third-grade teams qualify to compete at Worlds, I wasn’t sure if my young teams would achieve the same level of success this year. However, they rose to the occasion and met the challenge, with eight of my OGLE teams earning spots to compete at the State Championship.”
The school-sponsored Mad Scientists – otherwise known as Team 117A – won nine awards in as many qualifying tournaments across Mississippi throughout the year. Those awards include two Excellence Awards, two Teamwork Champion Awards, a STEM Award, two Judges Awards and two Design Awards.
The girls also were finalists in two REC Online Challenges, which are worldwide challenges in which the team made a VEX IQ promotional video and wrote an essay about Girl Power. Guy, who last year was one of the top winners in the Photography Online Challenge, is the first Oak Grove Lower Elementary Student to ever be selected as a winner in an online challenge and is the only student from Oak Grove to win an online challenge to date.
“There were many, many entries from around the world, and I think there were 12, possibly, in each of those categories,” Amaya said. “They were in that finalist category, so that’s an amazing achievement as well.”
The Mad Scientists also conducted a STEM research project in which team members mapped out ways to make their school more inclusive, with the intention of enabling all students to be able to play together regardless of any physical limitations. The team interviewed Dr. Michael Cottingham, a professor for University of Houston, and shared their idea for a motorized wheelchair swing.
“He told them that he loved their idea and said he has never seen anything like it,” Amaya said. “The team worked on several prototypes and are very proud of this invention idea. They also raised funds to replace a broken swing and requested that it be hung on the swings set with the other swings, and the principal approved it, so now the students swing together.
“They all placed small basketball goals in two classes and on the playground, and they recently made some sensory musical toys to be donated to the sensory class. Although they won't present their STEM video at Worlds, they are continuing their project.”
To advance to the VEX IQ World Robotics Championship, which will be held at the end of April, the Mad Scientists won the Design Award at the state championship.
“I was extremely proud, because they had to put a lot of work into building their robot,” Amaya said. “They actually built three robots during the season, and they had an amazing engineering notebook that documented the building of the robots and the programming that they did.
“They were able to explain all of that to the judges in an interview that earned them points as well. So their interview, their robot and their notebook impressed (the judges) enough that they won the Design Award. For girls at this age, third-grade level, competing with second through sixth-graders, is quite an accomplishment.”
At the world championship, the girls will compete with 400 teams in grades 2 through 6 from 40 different countries around the world. The teams will compete with their design notebook and STEM projects, as well as work with other in the Teamwork challenges.
“Last year I got the chance to go to the World Robotics Championship and I loved it so much,” Guy said. “This year I worked extra hard and encouraged my team because I wanted them to have that same experience. I enjoyed the World Championship because it’s a lot of fun, a great way to learn, you can make new friends, and they have giant ice cream cones.”
The team is currently seeking funds from the community to help with the trip to Kentucky, with donations being accepted online at https://oak-grove-lower-elementary.ed.co/mad-scie. Individuals can make a one-time donation of any amount, and three sponsorships also are available: Bronze for $150-$299, Silver for $300-$499 and Gold for $500 or more.
Checks made payable to the Lamar County Education Foundation also can be mailed to Nadine Amaya, Oak Grove Lower Elementary, 1762 Old Highway 24, Hattiesburg, MS 39402. Donations are tax deductible.
