After weeks of building, testing and refining their robots at the Robert Shaw Center, KISD robotics teams took their skills to the big stage at the FIRST in Texas District Championship and UIL State Championship the weekend of April 12-13.

Teams from Cinco Ranch, Jordan, Mayde Creek, Paetow, Tompkins and Seven Lakes high schools competed in two divisions — Mercury and Apollo — showcasing their engineering talents in challenges that included placing “coral” on the reef, lifting “algae” into the barge and hanging from shark “cages.”

Jordan High School advanced to the Mercury semifinals and earned the Creativity Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation for their robot’s innovative design to shoot “algae” into the scoring barge.

Cinco Ranch High School battled through five rounds of elimination matches, finishing as Mercury Division finalists. Their performance secured a spot at the upcoming FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship, which took place April 16–19 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

“Congratulations to all KISD robotics students for their hard work, teamwork and impressive performance on the state stage,” said the district on its Facebook page.