County team takes top honors at 4-H robotics meet

Washington County was well represented at the Area 2 4-H Robotics Challenge on Sunday, May 20, at Purdue Polytechnic Institute in New Albany.  

The Regional Challenge was sponsored by Jackson County REMC.

Three teams of Washington County 4-H Robotics Club’s ‘Monster Bots’ competed with teams from Clark, Floyd and Crawford counties to complete a Mission to Mars challenge. Teams competed to build and program a robot to navigate a mars landscape and scoop up a pile of mars rock. The Washington County Team of Jhase Newton, Leauna Springer, Jack Armstrong and Jacob Heightchew took 1st place honors by scooping up 1 gram of mars rock.

Monster Bots participating in the Regional Challenge were Jhase Newton, Jack Armstrong, Leauna Springer, Jacob Heightchew, Sam LeMay, Brett Murphy, Lucas Hein, Logan Tharp, Charlie, Armstrong, James Elliott, Shyann Springer.

The Indiana 4-H Robotics program is a part of 4-H’s increased emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).  Team members learn to work as a team to research, design, build, program and trouble-shoot a robot to perform specified tasks.

The Monster Bots will begin meeting again in January of 2019. Any persons interested in joining the club in 2019 can contact Megan Broughton, Youth Development Extension Educator at 812-883-4601.  Monster Bot volunteer leaders are Paul Elliott, Michelle Newton, Dave LeMay and Tom Hein.