Elgin robotics teams make state championship

Two Elgin-based robotics teams will compete in the state championship Saturday, and one of them would not be there without the other.

The members of team got robot?, which has been around for a few years and comprises high school students, earlier this year helped organize and now mentor the younger members of rookie team Blue Box Bots.

Both teams, which share a practice space in the lower level of the downtown Elgin Technology Center, will be competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge state tournament at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The competition entails designing, building and programming robots that must complete different tasks.

The older kids have mentored other robotics teams at Abbott Middle School in Elgin, Anne Fox Elementary in Hanover Park and Jane Addams Junior High in Schaumburg, but their relationship with Blue Box Bots is special, said got robot? member Kristen McKellar, 18, of Elgin.

A few members of the two teams are siblings and families have known each other for years, she said. Her twin brother Matthew is also on her team, she added.

“It's very cool,” she said. “For many years I used to do mentoring, and now I've been blessed with this very wonderful experience, and the opportunity to share that with others so they can avoid some of the pitfalls when I started.”

Being part of a robotics team is no small commitment, entailing 10 to 15 hours per week and even more before competitions, she said.

“I'm willing to put that in because the stuff I've learned is really worth the time,” she said.

As the lead programmer on her team, Kristen helps the younger kids with programming, as well as how to do effective project presentations, she said. Mentoring has taught her a lot, she said.

“For one, the technology is always updating, there is always something new, and (the younger kids) have their own perspective,” she said. “I get to learn more about how I can better teach. When I show them something, it helps me understand and analyze how I might improve my skills.”

Students from the two teams are mostly home-schooled and live in Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Batavia, Hanover Park, Carpentersville, Algonquin and Rolling Meadows, said parent Jennifer Neuman, whose 12-year-old daughter Abby is a Blue Box Bots member. Each team of seven members coincidentally includes six boys and a girl, she said.

Besides the practical skills they learn, the experience is about learning how to work together, Neuman said.

“They learn teamwork and communication,” she said. “It's very valuable skills.”