OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — At Mary Our Queen Catholic School, the robotics program has had no problem competing with the rest of the state. Their collection of trophies speaks for itself.
The trophies coming from state championship victories for three different teams, seven students between 5th and 8th grade, that will now be heading to the World Championships in Dallas, Texas in May.
“The tournament was really fun because it’s the perfect opportunity to show what you worked so hard to create,” 5th Grader Daphne St. Germain said.
“We like poured our lives into this,” 8th Grader Henry Sommer said. “It’s super exciting to see it actually coming together and our dream happening.”
“Now I’m going to Texas,” 6th Grader Madden Humphrey said. “It’s awesome.”
To become a nationally ranked team, and have this kind of success, you must score the most points at a competition. Doing so by pushing and shooting balls into goals, and even hanging on a bar with a robot.
However, it is the preparation from August to now that makes it all possible.
“It takes hours and hours to actually build the robot, and then more hours upon that to program it and get it actually driving and functioning,” 8th Grader Ian Moravek said. “Then more after that to drive it and be skilled enough to score a lot of points.”
Tara Petersen serves as the robotics coach, 6th grade science teacher, and assistant principal. She says the program has taken off since she joined 13 years ago.
“When I came to Mary Our Queen, they had two teams of junior high kids. This year we have ten teams,” Petersen said.
Now all students pre-k through 8th grade are exposed to the STEM program, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Something that is not only making them more competitive but most importantly providing students with skills and experience that they can use in the future in related fields.
“Obviously, the goal is to get the kids interested in STEM fields and give them some experience. So, this does that in a competitive format,” Petersen said. “They’re learning to build these robots and design the robots.”
“You just learn a lot that will help you later on in life if you decide to go into a career in programming, robotics, or engineering,” Sommer said. “Anything in STEM will help you.”
“I have been doing this for four years, going on five,” Humphrey said. “I’m very excited about what’s to come.”
Mary Our Queen says none of it is possible without the support they have received from its Knight’s and Men’s clubs, along with local sponsors, who have helped fund the program and the big trip to Dallas.