Taylor University hosts robotics competition

Taylor University hosted Unified Robotics for the fifth straight year on Saturday.

Unified Robotics is a STEM program designed for kids with and without disabilities to be able to compete together. On Saturday, students from schools all over Grant County came together to compete. 

Students work with their team to build and design a robot which they then use to complete missions and earn points. Lisa Graham, the Executive Director of the Grant County Special Education Cooperative, said the competition helps kids learn important life skills. 

“Critical thinking, having high expectations, working under pressure, being part of a team, those are all things we have to do, all of us,” Graham said. “Whether we’re in school, whether we’re adults, we all have to learn to work together and so this is a perfect example in a safe, fun environment.”

By completing missions, Graham said students can win medals and ribbons. Each team also decorates a table and can win a prize for best decorations at the end of the competition. 

This is the fifth year the competition has taken place. Graham said she has seen the engagement grow from parents and students each year and this year each team even handed out small gifts to opposing teams. 

“That’s cool too because you’re building friends, not just within your own group but within the bigger group and that’s cool,” Graham said. 

Taylor education and engineering students even help with the competition. Each team gets paired with an education and engineering student who are there to help and cheer their team on. 

Carrie Willoughby, a Taylor education major, said that even though she doesn’t know anything about robotics she enjoyed getting to see the kids’ excitement and getting to learn from them.

“I just think it’s really cool to be a part of so many schools from the community and just to learn more about their involvement and just the different type of programs they have for all types of kids,” Willoughby said. 

Parents and grandparents also got to learn more about their kids and the things they enjoy. Shelly Obenchain, a grandparent from North View Elementary, said she loved getting to see her grandson learn teamwork and do something he enjoys.

“It’s so exciting because I don’t get to see, with school and stuff, you don’t get to see what they do,” Obenchain said. “You hear about it, but to actually see them do it hands on, it just warms the grandmother’s heart.”