Chaska High School's robotics team headed to world championship in Houston
CHASKA, Minn. — A group of Chaska students is choosing to spend their spring break at school.
That's because they're part of the robotics team that just qualified for the world finals. John Lauritsen shows us how they made it happen.
"Sometimes you'll see it break. Sometimes you'll see it do amazing things," said Kaden Morton, senior.
At Chaska High School, you'll find another kind of March Madness.
"Making sure you are working well together is super important," said Gavin Moen, junior.
Last weekend, the Robohawks, as they're known around school, did so well at a St. Louis competition that they qualified for the world championships in Houston, Texas.
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That means they'll now compete against 600 other teams, many from other countries, for a chance to win it all.
"Competitions are a blast. Almost all of us lose our voices, every year, screaming and cheering on the team," said Rob Benson, co-coach.
There are a series of matches within these tournaments. In St. Louis, the Robohawks robot was successful at shooting orange rings into a goal, and then it played stifling defense like only the best Final Four teams can.
"By the time you hit the finals it's everything. Super focused. Everyone in the stands is cheering, everyone is yelling, it gets very intense in a good way," said Morton.
Their success really began in January. That's when they brainstormed this year's machine and then got going on the programming, design and financing.
When they are in the building stages the team can spend anywhere from three to five hours a day after school working on their robot.
About 30 kids are on the team and each has a job to do. Morton is a driver and a programmer.
"It's one of the things I tell every kid in robotics, every kid outside is, it's something that I would wish everybody got to experience," said Morton.
As they give their robot a reboot ahead of Houston, the skills learned here will extend well beyond the world championships.
"I originally wanted to go into the medical field freshman year. After joining this, I've shifted to engineering," said Moen. "It's definitely helped me pick a career."
Edina and Irondale are just some of the other Minnesota schools who qualified for the world competition, which will take place April 17-20.
The Robohawks are raising money for robot parts and travel to Houston, and they have a GoFundMe page on their website that you can check out, if you want to help
