CHESAPEAKE, Va. - A group of local middle school students has been invited to compete in the largest robotics competition in the world.
Demi, Conner, and Roman, the top robotics team at Deep Creek Middle School, will travel to the VEX Robotics World Championship to join over 400 teams from 50 different countries.
![Poster image - 2024-04-23T070523.032.jpg](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ed4bf3d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x720+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fff%2Ff8%2F3335a46540e0be50c3d82c53d083%2Fposter-image-2024-04-23t070523-032.jpg)
Demi says, "I'm also excited to be paired up with them. So because I get to talk with them, but then I also get to share some knowledge with them also."
This year’s challenge was to design and build a robot that can collect blocks and drop them into these containers. The robot with the most blocks in a minute wins.
![DCMS Robotics](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d466364/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9c%2Feb%2F1796ec66460082cbd0bb5e0cc8c6%2Frobotics-2.png)
Roman says, "You just try stuff, you see what works, see what doesn't? And then you end up figuring it out."
The robotics team at Deep Creek Middle School has only been around for three years. The students tell me this is just the beginning of their STEM journey.
![DCMS Robotics](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/afd3010/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdb%2F7a%2Ffe7d3c864e3cbc6b8a0c8a39bfd5%2Frobotics-1.png)
"I am looking forward to being a mechatronics engineer," says Demi.
"I actually want to be an engineer for NASA one day," says Conner.
"I've been looking forward to an engineer and possibly a coder/game dev," says Roman.
You can support the Deep Creek Middle School Robotics Team by attending STEM Night at Harbor Park. The Tides will be playing on Friday, April 26 at 6:35 p.m. A portion of the sales will go to the robotics program.
You can purchase tickets here.
Are you are interested in bringing a robotics program to your school? Melodie Surratt is the robotics coach at Deep Creek Middle School and the robotics lead for Chesapeake Public Schools. She tells me that she would like to see the program grow in the city of Chesapeake and to other Hampton Roads schools. You can contact her at melodie.surratt@cpschools.com