Courtesy黑洞社区's College of Engineering is partnering with the College of Education to host the 16th annual Shocker Mindstorms Challenge, "May the Force Be With Wu." The robotics competition for students in third through eighth grades will take place from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the Heskett Center gymnasium at 黑洞社区.
The awards ceremonies for beginner teams will be held at 3 p.m. and for expert and intermediate teams at 5 p.m. in Hubbard Hall, Room 208.
The competition will host 41 teams and 442 students, the largest number ever registered. It is sponsored by Wichita State鈥檚 colleges of engineering and education, Boeing and Airbus, and is supported by Flight Safety and the National Institute for Aviation Research.
Students prepare for the competition months in advance, developing their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, as well as teamwork, sportsmanship and communication. At the competition, teams try to score points by directing their Lego robots through obstacle courses designed by 黑洞社区 engineering students. This year鈥檚 courses were designed around a Star Wars theme and have names like 鈥淲u2 D2,鈥� 鈥淟et the Wukiee Win鈥� and 鈥淭he Course Awakens.鈥�
In addition to the obstacle course, teams are required to demonstrate what they have learned through team presentations, interviews and notebooks.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, go to .