Ranney School (Tinton Falls, NJ) fourth- and fifth-graders have the option of taking a Robotics Elective course. This month, these robotics students showed off their building, programming and driving skills with a Robotics Demonstration Assembly for the entire Lower School. The students proudly walked into the assembly hall to the musical theme of “Star Wars” while carrying their robots. They explained what they’ve learned in Robotics class so far this year and how they build the robots.

Students then demonstrated what a competition is like using one of Ranney’s robotics fields; the teams showed how they work together to pick up colored VEX IQ cubes and drop them into color-coded bins to earn points. Students also exhibited how fast their robots can go—which had the whole crowd on its feet, cheering on the wheeled robots.

A few members of the Middle and Upper School Robotics Teams–many of whom are competing at the state, national and even global level–also stopped by the assembly to share what some of the larger robots look like and what they can do in a competition. Ranney’s Middle and Upper School Robotics Teams have earned 22 awards during the 2014-15 robotics season to date.