Competitive Robotics Stream

Why competitive robotics?

BGC offers a range of competitive robotics programs, which use the competitive atmosphere to drive learning by doing. The goal is to offer the STEM equivalent of sports, but unlike sports: Everyone can go pro.

There are currently three levels on offer: LEGO Robotics Challenge, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition. They scale in age, team size, and complexity.

Common Core Elements

• Students are given a series of robot tasks, point values, and design restrictions.
• They determine which tasks to tackle, backed on the point values and complexity
• They work in teams to build robots which achieve the tasks
• Students can combine the skills they've learned with the resources provided however they feel will best achieve their goals
• Throughout the season, instructors and/or volunteer mentors teach students both the fundamental and cutting-edge skills they need to push their boundaries.
• The season culminates with a competition event, where students show what their robots can do, while getting to interact with other teams

Heading?

The competition teams differ from most other programs as they are a multi-year investment. Students in their first year of a given program will spend more time learning from their experienced peers. As they enter subsequent years, they will grow into the leaders. This process can take some time, but it allows for fully student-driven programs, where they are able to perform at a high level. By the time students reach the high school programs, the environment is more like a varsity sports teams than a club program. They build close friendships from working and competing with the same people year over year.FIRST robotics programs are known for forming a strong community, both within the individual teams and the wider organization.