Now the students will form the core of the New Zealand Blackbots team to compete in the First Lego League (robotics) section of the First World Festival of Robotics, held in Houston, from April 19-22, 2023.
The 2023 Blackbots will be mentored by experienced First New Zealand coaches Lucknow School principal Brendon White and Mayfair School principal Ricardo Fox.
It will be an Olympic-like celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for tech-minded youths from around the globe.
Max Atkins, 13, says he’s proud of the team and what they’ve accomplished.
“It’s such a cool opportunity and I feel really honoured to be representing New Zealand. This trip will help us to develop our robot building and coding, and improve our resilience, collaboration, and teamwork skills,” he said.
“It’s going to be awesome competing in the competition,” said Isla Atkins, 13. “It’s going to be really interesting with so many people from around the world meeting up in one place.”
The event is set to cost about NZ$7000 per student to attend and the team is now seeking sponsorship to get their robot out into the global arena.
To donate or sponsor, contact Angela Atkins at geanismaatkins@gmail.com or Brendon White at Lucknow School.