York City Robothinkers ready to burst onto national stage

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The all-girls York City RoboThinkers team is gearing up to compete against 80 teams from around the world at the FIRST LEGO League Invitational.
Cameron Clark, York Daily Record

This weekend, the all-girls 2018-19 York City RoboThinkers team will be competing in the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Open Invitational in Arkansas – an international STEM competition.

With their robot in tow, the young Yorkers can’t wait to take on the 80 teams from around the world waiting to meet them in “The Natural State.”

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The York City RoboThinkers have already competed in many LEGO League competitions and didn’t leave empty handed. They earned a 1st Place Core Values Award in the LCDS Robo Ruckus FLL Scrimmage and both a 1st Place Gracious Professionalism Award and a 3rd Place Champions Award at the Penn State Berks Region FIRST LEGO League Championship to name a few. Chloe Broadwater (left) and coach Kim Bowen (right) examine a piece of the robot, April 24, 2019. (Photo: Cameron Clark, York Daily Record)

The four-part competition deals with presentations on each team’s project, core values, and robot design along with autonomous robot games. Competitors must score high in each challenge in order to walk away with with the gold.

This will be the RoboThinkers’ last competition of the season, and they’re looking to end it with a bang.

“We are the only robotics team in York City and that’s why it’s a big deal, and now we’re going to a national stage,” Young Thinkers of York Executive Director Ray Ames said.

Learn more through the video at the top of this page and photo gallery below.

The all-girls 2018-2019 York City RoboThinkers team is preparing to compete in the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Open Invitational in Arkansas, where they will be up against 80 teams from around the world, April 24, 2019.

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The RoboThinkers team is a part of the Young Thinkers of York Robotics & Engineering Program, which provides opportunities for students to get the exposure and experience of STEM activities. Jailyn Colbert (left) and Annie Mullins (right) work on their robot during practice, April 24, 2019.

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The goal of the program is to help students develop their communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills through real-life experiences with robotics. Coach Kim Bowen explains how to program the robot during practice, April 24, 2019.

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The York City RoboThinkers team is made up of eight members ages 9 to 14 representing eight different schools around the city. (Left to right) Addison Markle, Laura Littlejohn and Aja Bones listen to their coaches during robotics practice, April 24, 2019.

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There are a shortage of females in the STEM industry, which influenced the Young Thinkers of York Robotics & Engineering Program to have an all girls robotics team this year. Chloe Broadwater (right) and Cheyenne Minichino (left) add an attachment to the robot as their teammates watch, April 24, 2019.

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The robotics competition consists of 4 parts: a project presentation, a core values presentation, a robot design presentation and robot games. Teams must work on each part equally if they want to succeed. (Left to right) Chloe Broadwater, Cheyenne Minichino, coach Ray Ames and coach Kim Bowen readjust some obstacles on the table, April 24, 2019.

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One part of the FIRST LEGO League competition is called robot games, where teams build an autonomous robot out of Legos and must complete certain missions in an allotted amount of time, April 24, 2019.

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Robots must navigate a 4x8 foot table to complete missions, which include interacting with Lego fixtures throughout the area The theme this year is space. Coach Ray Ames talks strategy with (Left to right) Jailyn Colbert, Annie Mullins and Addison Markle, April 24, 2019.

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This is the robot that the York City robotics team has constructed. It is programed to autonomously complete specific tasks in a timely manor, April 24, 2019.

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Missions in the robot games competition have teams program their robots to interact with Lego set pieces arranged on a table, April 24, 2019.

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Young Thinkers of York Executive Director Ray Ames has been a coach for 6 years. Originally, he was an assistant coach with a local school, but deciding to set out on his own to bring robotics to York city, April 24, 2019.

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Alternative robot designs are on display in a series of shelves in the RoboThinkers practice room, April 24, 2019.

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The Young Thinkers of York Robotics & Engineering Program prides itself on helping students figure out what they're passionate about and what careers they might want to pursue. Laura Littlejohn (left) wants to be a Veterinarian and Aja Bones plans to become an Aerospace Engineer, April 24, 2019.

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Being a part of the RoboThinkers has opened Addison Markle's eyes to the STEM world. She plans to become a Biomedical Engineer when she gets older, April 24, 2019.

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Since this is the only robotics team in York city, students like Chloe Broadwater (left) and Jahziah Ford (right) hurry in to get their hands on STEM materials, April 24, 2019.

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