The Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum Hosts the Nebraska Robotics Expo
The Largest Robotics Competition in the State and Region
ASHLAND, NE (January 22, 2019) The Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum will host the tenth Annual Nebraska Robotics Expo on Saturday, February 16, 2019. Over 800 K-12 Nebraska students, team leaders, and math and science teachers will gather for this extraordinary robotics event that brings together two robotics competitions, the CEENBoT Robotics Showcase and FIRST LEGO League, and the Creative Visual Arts Expo for a day of robotics inspiration in a historical venue.
“This is a celebration of in-school and after-school student work with robotics,” says Deb Hermann, director of marketing at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum. “The Nebraska Robotics Expo encourages student involvement with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as well as educates and engages our next generation of innovators, their families and the public about STEM opportunities in Nebraska.”
The CEENBoT™ Showcase hosts an impressive group of 100 teams from over 20 Nebraska Elementary, Middle and High Schools. It is the eleventh season for the Showcase that uses the Nebraska-created CEENBoT™ robot in its events. This year’s six competitive Showcase events involve challenges that require team work, strategy, autonomous programming, and engineering innovation. The events this year are in the theme of “Space.”
FIRST LEGO League will host 48 teams for the FIRST LEGO League INTO ORBIT℠ Challenge. The INTO ORBIT FIRST LEGO League season will transport children ages 9 to 14 into space, where they will explore, challenge, and innovate in the vast expanse of space. During the INTO ORBIT season, teams will identify a physical or social problem faced by humans during long duration space exploration within our Sun’s solar system and propose a solution. They also build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® technology to solve a set of missions in the Robot Game.
“The public is invited to play as well,” explains Alisa Gilmore, Nebraska Robotics Expo & CEENBoT Robotics Showcase director. “One of the highlights of our event is the CEENBoT Games. The young as well as the young at heart are encouraged to participate in activities such as CEENBoT Bowling, Rodeo BoT Style, Putt Putt, PlinkBot, and Precision Driving.
“The Nebraska Robotics Expo is the result of a collaboration of leaders within the University of Nebraska system,” says Gilmore. “It includes leadership by faculty and staff of the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Education, faculty and staff within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and faculty and staff of the UNL 4-H Extension.” The Expo is made possible by generous local sponsorships, including NASA Nebraska Space Grant, Facebook, OPPD, and by seed monies from local nonprofit organizations, including Prairie STEM.”
Opening ceremonies are open to the public and will take place at 8:30 a.m. in the Museum’s lower Atrium. This event is included in the cost of general admission and free for Museum members.
