Robots Are Taking Over Grandville Public Schools

GRANDVILLE, Mich., Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Something unusual is happening over the next month in Grandville, Michigan.  For three of the next four weekends, robots will take over Grandville High School and Grandville Middle School.  Gyms that are normally filled with student athletes, theaters that normally host student productions and community events, and classrooms that house extracurricular activities will all be devoted to three regional robotics competitions rarely seen in one community.  Grandville has been the leader in competitive robotics for more than a decade, but this month marks the first time that school district has devoted resources to robotics competitions on this scale.

On Saturday, November 23, Grandville plays host to its 14^th annual Regional Lego League Qualifying Tournament.  This event brings together hundreds of 4^th – 6^th grade students and their robots to compete in an annual FIRST Lego League competition, with winners advancing to the State of Michigan Lego League Championship.  On the same day, also at Grandville High School, twenty-seven area robotics teams made up of 2^nd – 3^rd graders will be competing in the West Michigan Lego League Junior Expo.  These two competitions will fill Grandville High School with more than 700 young inventors – and an expected 2,000 coaches, parents, grandparents, and friends.

The following weekend, November 30, Grandville coaches, teachers, and robotics supporters will take the weekend off for Thanksgiving.  But right after that, the schools gear up for two more record-setting events.

On Saturday, December 7, Grandville High School will play host to the largest VEX robotics competition outside the National and World Championships.  More than 130 middle school, high school, and university robotics teams from around the Great Lakes states will come together at the 4^th annual West Michigan Holiday VEX Tournament.  Teams from each age bracket will compete in versions of the 2019-2020 VEX Robotics challenge – Tower Takeover, with winners advancing to the VEX Robotics State, National, and World Championship.  This huge event will be nearly twice the size of last year's record-setting tournament, and spectators will see multiple robots on the field that are currently ranked in the top 50 in the world.

To complete the robot takeover in Grandville, the schools will host the 1^st annual Midwest Elite VEX tournament on Saturday, December 14 and Sunday December 15.  Grandville has cleared their Middle School of all other activities for that weekend, as the schools host top high school VEX Robotics teams from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  This event is the first invitational of its kind in North America, and an expected 50 teams that won at their 2018-2019 State Championships and advanced to the 2019 World Championship will come to Grandville to compete and hone their robots and skills in preparation for the 2020 World Championship.  

Never before have robots taken over Grandville gyms, theaters, cafeterias, and classrooms for three of four consecutive weeks.  In fact, nowhere in North America has this much young talent ever come together to compete in three events like these hosted by the same school district.

Event schedules and detailed information for spectators will be released in advance of each of the upcoming events, through the media and on the Grandville RoboDawgs blog (https://robodawgs.wordpress.com/), webpage (http://robodawgs.org/), and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheRoboDawgs/).

Grandville Public Schools has been a leader in educational robotics for more than 22 years.  On November 5, 2019, local voters approved $7 million in school bonds to fund construction of the country's first built-for-purpose robotics competition arena. 

Beginning with one high school robotics team in 1998, the program has now grown to include more than 90 teams based at the District's Robotics & Engineering Center.  More than 700 students participate on Grandville robotics teams, designing, building, and programming robotics for competitions around the world.  Grandville fields eighteen JrFLL teams serving students in second and third grades.  The District's Lego League and VEX IQ programs field 27 teams made up of fourth through sixth graders. These students go on to participate VEX Robotics program at the middle school and high school.  Grandville High School also fields teams that compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition.  The Grandville High School RoboDawgs have built and flown autonomous aerial drones for seven years and this year will launch more than new 30 RECF Aerial Drone teams.  Our high school teams build autonomous vehicles to compete on land, water, and in the air.

For more information, contact RoboDawg Head Coaches:  Mike Evele – [email protected] or Doug Hepfer – [email protected] / (616) 540-3239

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SOURCE Grandville RoboDawgs

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