COLUMBIA, S.C. — Students from around the state competed in a STEM competition where teams raced robotic vehicles around various courses.
Teams were judged not only on speed but also on enterprise and graphic design.
Middle and high school students and teachers from South Carolina gathered at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies for a competition where they raced robotic vehicles.
"Teamwork skills and a lot of us have taken the leadership role very seriously," said Brice Hallman.
Hallman is a seventh grader at Dutch Fork Middle School and new to the team of eight students that competed.
"What really got me into it was just, I know a lot of these people, and they are all nice, and they invited me to do it, so I might as well," Hallman said.
"I actually just like them enjoying learning and not even knowing their learning and having different opportunities," said Vilencia Bowman, who teaches math at Dutch Fork Middle.
"You will be amazed at the things that they learn from this program. Just taking something from a concept, especially with the autonomous driving vehicle, it was a box of parts and they had to build every single part of it," said Bowman.
The event, held annually, is co-hosted by a nationwide hands-on STEM program, TEN80 Education.
"They have learned math, science, technology, engineering while they are having fun doing it," said David Prigge, the director of Career and Tech Education in Lexington Richland 5. On Friday, he officiated for TEN80.
"We need students involved in these types of things so they can have fun learning and the learning isn't just sitting in a classroom, this gets them out and gets them ideas," Prigge explained.
This is the first year Lexington Richland 5 student clubs have raced–but there's room to expand.
"I would love to see the entire district, like all the middle schools and all the high schools, and even outside of our district. I know it has been here before in Columbia but I would love to see a major flow back to them doing racing and giving the kids a chance to see how engineering really plays into the real world," said Bowman.
As teams prepare for nationals at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in April, the students are already discussing next year's plans to improve.
"We are planning to add one more car next year, it's a drag car," Hallman said enthusiastically.
All teams that competed in Friday's competition are now preparing for nationals, where teams from around the nation will race their vehicles in hopes of becoming the 2024 TEN80 STEM National Champion.