Students Learn Ag Through Robotics

A complex system delivers food from farm to table, and students at Dillingham Elementary are learning the dynamic process starting from cultivation to consumption for this year’s 4-H Robotics competition theme.

Both Dillingham and Fairview elementary schools have afterschool 4-H Robotics clubs, which connect ag-based concepts to science and engineering and foster curiosity about modern farming and future careers.

“It combines both agriculture and robotics into one,” said Jennifer Rorex, Dillingham 4-H Robotics Club sponsor. “And when they go into middle school, they can take robotics as an elective to further develop their skills and interest.”

Teams compete at 4-H shows throughout the spring, and the competition theme changes year-to-year. This year’s theme is sustainable farming, and students will build and learn to pilot their robot while learning about the important process that drives the global food supply and the ways to make it more sustainable.

“The competition has seven known challenges and four unknown challenges you only learn about the day before,” Rorex said. “They have three minutes to get it done, so they have to think and reason on the fly.”

Students compete in teams of four, and robotics meets are played using a game mat with a specific layout. This year’s mat includes zones such as an apiary, honey processor, weigh station and a farmer’s market.

With the added random challenges, students may need to adjust their robot mid-competition for tasks like precisely moving items from the fruit orchard zone to the fruit processor.

“There’s a lot of math involved in solving the angles and rotations needed, and they have to calculate that under pressure,” Rorex said. “It also teaches teamwork and effective communication.”

Dillingham fifth grader Eddonis Perry especially enjoys building the robots for competition.

“It takes a while, but once you get good at it, it’s pretty fun,” he said. “It makes you think outside the box.

“Plus, you can get the robot to make cool sounds,” Perry added.

Fellow fifth grader Walter Peters learned about the importance of teamwork and communication through his experience at competition.

“You’ve got to cooperate and not get mad at each other,” he said. “If you argue, you lose points.”

As the dates for competitions draw closer, team members will learn how to keep their cool under pressure.

“The competition is intense, but the kids can do it all,” Rorex said. “It blows my mind. When I was a kid, we didn’t have anything like this.”