HAWAI‘I ROBOTICS STUDENTS EARN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Hanalani School Named Champions at International Botball Tournament

HONOLULU - At the close of three days of intense international competition, a team of five students from Hanalani School in Mililani were named the tournament champions of the International Botball Tournament held in Edwardsville, Illinois. 

Competing among 64 teams from around the globe, including Kuwait, Poland, and teams from across the United States, Hanalani’s team was undefeated as they entered the final rounds of competition and finished number one in the seeding rounds. 

The 2010 Global Conference on Educational Robotics is an annual event, where middle school and high school students, educators, robotics enthusiasts, and professionals from across the world gather to connect with peers, discuss technology-related ideas, and cheer on their favorite teams during an exciting autonomous robot tournament, the International Botball Tournament.

Hanalani competed at the Hawai‘i Regional Botball Tournament in May, along with 39 other Hawai‘i-based Botball teams.  Hanalani was the overall, double elimination and seeding match winner at the Hawaii Tournament.  During the Hawai‘i Tournament, they set a national record for highest score during for seeding rounds.

Botball engages middle and high school aged students in a team-oriented robotics competition based on national science education standards. By designing, building, programming, and documenting autonomous robots, students use science, engineering, technology, math, and writing skills in a hands-on project that reinforces their learning.

Botball is one of six major educational robotics programs in the state.  Recognizing the importance of promoting robotics at an early age and sustaining students' interest in STEM education throughout their schooling, Hawai‘i's six robotics programs (FIRST Robotics, Botball, Underwater ROV, VEX Robotics, Micro Robotics, FIRST LEGO League) have joined together to form the Hawai‘i Robotics Organizing Committee (ROC). As a critical component of the Hawai‘i Innovation Initiative, robotics engages students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and provides them with the teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving skills they need to compete in the 21st century workplace.

To learn more about robotics education in Hawai‘i and view photos of the competition, visit www.hawaiiroc.org.

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