Socorro ISD students take part in robotics competition

Students from 56 different Socorro elementary and middle schools came together for the third-annual Robocom on Saturday.

The students spent months preparing for the robotics competition. They learned how to build and program robots made out of Legos to solve puzzles.

“The response has been huge. The kids are excited. They come here full of lots of spirit,” organizer Stephanie Carrasco said. “What we really like about this competition is it really develops this idea of networking and collaboration.”

The competition also incorporated a research component. Each group was assigned a different animal that is currently at risk because of environmental changes. The kids put together research videos about their animals, and the robots they made were designed to fix environmental issues.

Hurshel Antwine Elemntary fourth grader Angel Avila and his group were assigned to research brown bears.

“Our teacher said it’s mostly about having fun and getting into the spirit,” Avila said. “[Bears] have a lot of needs from us.”

Andrew Escajeda is a freshman at Montwood High School. He was one of dozens of high schoolers that volunteered to help the younger kids out. He said he wishes this competition existed when he was in elementary school.

“I think it’s very important for these kids to study STEM,” Escajeda said. “Seeing all of them together and dress up, and have a good time [with] robotics is really cool.”

The top 10 groups will advance to Regionals at UTEP. The winners will be announced at 6:30 p.m.