SALYERSVILLE – The community is invited to celebrate the county-wide robotics teams at an event scheduled for later this month as the middle school team prepares for nationals.
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Magoffin County High School cafeteria, the Magoffin County High School, Herald Whitaker Middle School, Salyersville Grade School and North Magoffin Elementary robotics teams will be set up for a Robotics Expo, giving demonstrations of their robots and walking the public through their projects.
“Come find out why we love robotics so much!” Robotics Coach Jerica Conley said in a post announcing the event.”
Conley said the public will also learn why they speak so highly of the Challenger Learning Center in Hazard, which she describes as being foundational to Magoffin’s robotics program.
Also featured at the event will be all the awards the groups have won so far!
In February, both of Magoffin’s KY FIRST Robotics teams had their state championships, with Magoffin County High School’s First Tech Challenge team accomplishing all of the goals they set out to accomplish at the University of Kentucky and coming home with the Rookie of the Year Award! They built a working robot, coded and controlled their robot to pick up, move and place pixels on the board, coded and built their robot to suspend from a higher level, coded and built their robot to launch a drone, and also completed five matches with alliance partners. For rookies, these guys are TALENTED because this stuff is hardcore!
Herald Whitaker Middle School’s First Lego League team accomplished their goals as well at Northern Kentucky University FLL State Championship by competing in three rounds of Robot Games and a very intense 30-minute judging session where they were required to present their Innovation Project, Core Values, and Robot Design. They placed first place in Core Values and third place OVERALL, which advances them to a NATIONAL Invitational Championship for the second year in a row.
HWMS’s MC Master Crafters presented their innovation project where they developed the idea of a virtual glass blowing experience that would utilize the inputs from a glass blowing rod they modeled and 3d printed. It would use an air flow sensor as well as a directional position sensor to shape the glass being blown in the virtual environment.
They also explained how this could make the art of glass blowing more accessible to a larger audience as well as being very handicap friendly. Judges found little room for improvement in their presentation, and this along with getting 1st place in core values helped the team score high enough to place 3rd overall champions and have the opportunity to advance to a national invitational competition.
Conley said they are also so proud of Magoffin’s two brand new elementary school rookie robotics teams SGS and NME for winning awards at their first ever State FLL Championship.
SGS robotics team, the Robotics Rockstars, competed at Northern Kentucky University in the First Lego League State Robotics Competition last weekend and finished eighth in the robot games – the highest in Magoffin County history! Not only that, but they also took home the “Rising All Star Award,” which is given to a team that the judges expect great things from in the future. SGS’s kids worked incredibly hard and impressed everyone with their robot games and innovation project. The administration couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments and can’t wait to see what they achieve next!
Salyersville Grade School’s Robotic Rockstars had an amazing season! Robotic Rockstars is the first robotics team at SGS. They were able to compete at First Lego Leagues state competition. While at the competition the judges were impressed that SGS had an all-female technician team that ran their robot games. which is not the norm at the state level. They were able to accomplish the rank of 8th place in robot games. This wasn’t only the highest rank of any Magoffin County team that day but was the highest rank at state in the history of Magoffin County. Many of the Judges were also impressed with the teams innovation project as well and remarked how well spoken and well thought out their thirty minute presentation was. Their innovation project was a website in which people are able to access videos that can help them learn about the Arts in the comfort of their own home. The website also offered both English and Spanish translations of text. All of their hard work paid off with being honored with the “Rising All Star Award” this award is given to a team that the judges took notice of and also expect great things from in the future. They added this award to their previous accomplishment of finishing second place overall at Regional competition and first place in robot design. We are looking forward to seeing what they will accomplish next!
North Magoffin Elementary’s administration is also beyond proud of their robotics team and coaches. This is the first time that NME has had a robotics team, as well as the first time any of our students and coaches have experienced the world of robotics.
The NME team not only learned how to program and code a robot to perform many tasks, but they had to create a project that would benefit our community. Students designed a website and an app that are fully functional and accessible to any and all of Magoffin County! This app was specifically designed for the youth in our area to help them stay current with the activities and events that are happening in our area. When presenting their innovation project, the judges were super impressed! They even commented to our coaches how thorough and confident our team was while presenting and discussing their project.
The Herald Whitaker Middle School’s MC Master Crafters will be traveling to New Jersey and New York City for nations on May 17 through 20, so this April 23 event at the high school will serve as their send-off to state!
