Pinkston Robotics shines at Western Edge Open First LEGO League Competition

June 12, 2024

30 2 minutes read

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Pinkston Robotics, from Pinkston Middle School in Mountain Home, Arkansas, recently returned from Long Beach, California, where they competed in the Western Edge Open First LEGO League competition from May 31 – June 2, 2024.

Pinkston Robotics is composed of seventh graders Bray-Lynn Hopper, and Brooks Barber; alongside sixth graders Abigail Hale, Ava Allen, and Crews Wooldridge. Pinkston Robotics is coached by Chrissy Davis, Pinkston Middle School’s sixth and seventh grade robotics teacher. This team of intelligent middle schoolers had a highly successful year.

*Alliance group picture with Pinkston Robotics, B.U.I.L.D, and Reptile Renegades.* Photo by Anna Grace Hale.

Together they achieved the Innovation Project Award at the regional qualifier in December 2023 and promptly earned the Engineering Excellence Award at the Arkansas State First LEGO League Championship.

Thanks to their brilliant performance at State competition, the team was given the opportunity to participate in the World Championships at Houston, Texas and Western Edge Open at Long Beach, California.

At the Western Edge Open First LEGO League, Pinkston Robotics partook in three days of competition in robot design, robot game, innovation project, and core values, against ninety teams from around the globe. Pinkston Robotics impressed the judges with their many ideas and skills, one being their “swerve drive”. Swerve drive only moves the wheels of the robot, and leaves the rest of the robot alone.

“We can go into places where normal robots cannot because we turn only the wheels, not the whole entire robot,” says Pinkston Robotics member Abigail Hale.

Pinkston Robotics is the first team to use swerve drive in a First LEGO League Competition.

*(From left to right) Brooks Barber, Bray-Lynn Hopper, Ava Allen, and Abigail Hale setting up for a robot* *run*. Photo by Anna Grace Hale.

At the end of competition, Pinkston Robotics was awarded the Engineering Excellence Award. The Engineering Excellence Award recognizes the team with an efficiently designed robot, an innovative project solution that effectively addresses the season challenge, and Core Values are evident in all they do. Out of all ninety teams that participated only three walked away with the coveted award.

As the school year came to an end, Coach Chrissy Davis reflected on this past year. “This year has been quite the record setting year,” Coach Chrissy Davis says, “I’m going to miss this group of kids.”

Be sure to follow Pinkston Robotics on Facebook to learn more about the program, checkout the team’s accomplishments, and see videos of their robot in action!