Elementary teams join Naperville robotics competition

Elementary teams joined the fray for the first time at the WiredCats VEX Robotics Competition on Saturday at Neuqua Valley High School.

Fifteen groups of students as young as third-graders competed in a robotics game called Highrise, in which they used a robot they built in cooperation with one built by another team to score points during short challenges.

The youngest robot-builders joined 36 middle school and high school teams suburban schools who competed in back-to-back challenges of a robotics game called Skyrise.

"This is a great opportunity for my son to use his creativity," said Tina Rokosz, whose son, Nick, 11, took part in the competition.

Members of each team built a robot themselves using a VEX IQ Robotics kit that includes dozens of little pulleys, levers and gears, and a diagram explaining what each part does.

Ayana Spires of Kendall Elementary School in Naperville said she loved how all the parents came out to support their children.

This was the second annual robotics tournament Neuqua Valley has hosted. It was sponsored by the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, which funds District 204's robotics programs to promote development of skills in science, technology, engineering and math.

Daily Herald photographer Paul Michna contributed to this report