NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
This weekend, Nampa is taking North Dakota by storm via robotics.
The University of North Dakota College of Engineering and Mines is hosting a VEX Robotics competition, called the North Dakota Signature. A team of five students from Nampa Christian Schools is headed to North Dakota to compete against over 40 teams from across the United States and Canada.
The competition begins Friday and concludes Saturday.
”These students are not typical students. They’re frequently at school until midnight working on their robot,” Samantha Smith, self-proclaimed team travel agent, said. “I don’t think there’s a single event out of state that I haven’t gone to. It’s just so fun to get to know the kids. It’s a privilege for me to be able to do this with them, because they’re incredible kids and I just love them all.”
Smith’s son, Carsten, is a senior at Nampa Christian and the president of its robotics club. Nampa Christian currently has the biggest robotics club in Idaho, with eight teams of five students each, including three middle school teams, according to Samantha Smith.
Carsten Smith’s team, MONTE, has been named Idaho state champion for the last two years and has attended Worlds and Nationals twice. Samantha Smith gives a lot of credit to their advisor, Nicole Rodenburg, for the team’s success. When the students are working late hours at the school, Rodenburg is the one who comes by and helps them lock up when they finish.
More locally, the Nampa team’s recent state victories are helping to promote the growth of robotics in Idaho, Samantha Smith said.
”What’s cool about their team is they’ve really tried to set the bar for Idaho, opening doors to these bigger competitions,” Samantha Smith said. “This year, for the first time, we have other schools from Idaho also going to these signature events, they’re out-of-state, bigger competitions.”
This weekend, Carsten Smith’s team has its sights set on more awards.
In a news release, UND President Andy Armacost said he is delighted the university has the opportunity to host the event in Grand Forks.
“We are thrilled to co-sponsor this major event with VEX Robotics,” he said in the release. “This tournament will inspire many students to consider future studies in robotics, engineering, and science. We will show them what is possible when imagination and a sense of discovery come together to unleash incredible creativity.”
This year’s game is called high stakes, where robots are tasked with putting rings on top of a mobile goal, Carsten Smith said. At the competition this weekend, Carsten’s team is using the second iteration of its robot, which they built in about a month.
According to VEXrobotics.com, VEX competitions are meant to expose students to valuable skills like communication, collaboration and time-management. The VEX Robotics competition is also intended to prepare students to become future innovators. Around 95% of robotics participants report an increased interest in STEM subject areas and pursuing STEM-related careers, according to the VEX website.
”Nampa Christian does a very good job funding us,” Carsten Smith said. “Over the past few years, they’ve given us a lot of funding. Also, just allowing us to leave school to go do these things, because we do miss school things with big events, and they’ve been very kind and letting us do that and giving it support as we go.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
