High schoolers and their mentors build robots to compete in STEM expo

WEST FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — The 2023 STEM Expo went on this weekend at the Butler Machinery Arena at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds.

Around ten teams featuring high schools across North Dakota and Minnesota competed as part of the STEM Expo Robotics Championships.

Students and their mentors created robots to help carry cones and other objects to their respective spaces to earn points.

It’s a way for students to learn about more important skills related to building robotics.

“The more important skills they learn are how to better focus and work on a project that’s a little bit longer term and they learn how to deal with failure. One of the important parts of building a robot is trying something out, finding out it fails and fixing it. That could be really frustrating for kids at first but after a few cycles through, they get more comfortable with it and we make better progress then,” says Matt Craig, a Physics and Astronomy professor at MSUM.

He says teams are grateful the Moorhead High School Career Academy allows them to practice there during the offseason.