JENISON, Mich. -- Robotics is a subject many adults find confusing, but it's child's play for a group of elementary and junior high students in Jenison.
Jenison Robotics is in their first year and have already earned two places at the world competition. A junior high team and an elementary team are headed to Louisville, Kentucky to compete on Thursday.
The teams toppled the competition by building robots that can accurately gather and shoot balls, both autonomously and manually, into goals as quickly as possible.
The elementary school team has a small field of play, while the junior high team has a larger field for more of a challenge. There are adult coaches, but they just supervise and leave the designing, building and programming up to the students.
“I like just working with metal," says Jacob Wilkins, a member of the junior high team. "This is my first time in robotics, so this is entirely new to me. It was an awesome experience at first, then I made lots of friends here and I love it.”
