STEM continues to feature in some of our rural schools with the ongoing roll-out of the VEX IQ Robotics programme. Laois STEM Engagement Officer Seanie Morris paid a visit to 5th and 6th class students in Pike of Rushall National School with their robot kit on Thursday October 17th.
Pike of Rushall National School students with Laois STEM Engagement Officer Seanie Morris and his robot, Swish
Under the VEX Robotics Programme, selected schools in Laois who receive the new kit - or have their 2023/24 kit - will be eligible to take part in the VEX IQ Robotics Schools Competitions in the coming months. Laois Broadband Officer Antoinette Brennan, along with Seanie Morris, will be helping these schools as much as possible to explore STEM in various ways with VEX IQ: use Scratch coding; engineering, assembly and testing of the robot; team building and more.
Official Regional Finals dates are expected in late January/early February with the winners progressing to the National Finals in Cork in late February. From there, the All-Ireland VEX IQ Robotics Champions will progress to Texas, USA and represent Ireland at the World Vex Robotics Championships.
To find out a little more about this year's VEX IQ Competition, have a look at the short video from YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa0B7kNHpg8