Students use skills to tackle real life situations

Incarnate Word Academy Middle Level students in Howard Ludlow's robotics class are using their programming skills to tackle real life situations challenging our world today.
  Robotics teams, comprised of seventh-graders David Matl and Andrew Beauchamp and eighth-graders Jonathon Schull and Michael Fergie, competed in the First Lego League (FLL) Alamo East Qualifying Competition held at Del Mar College on Feb. 17.

Considered the largest robotics competition in the world, FLL is represented in over 70 countries. Every year, the competition challenges students with robotics events based on developing new real world, ecofriendly concepts that could be used in everyday life. This is the second year IWA has competed in FLL events.

With water consumption as the main topic at this year's qualifying competition, the teams focused their project on various methods of saving water. Students conducted research for their project by meeting with the City of Corpus Christi Water Plant Manager Rafael Martinez to discuss water conservation as well as water supply issues.

Students received the highest amount of points possible during the Robotics portion of the qualifying competition winning awards for best performing robot, best project, and best robot design.

The teams then participated in the First Lego League Regional Competition on March 4. Students had a great showing by receiving the eighth highest scored round overall and ninth highest score for all three rounds combined in the Hydrodynamics Robot Game event.

"Out of the 61 teams that competed, IWA's team did really great," Ludlow said. "There are about 480 teams in our region, so it is pretty outstanding that both of our teams finished the competition so high."