GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Students with war paint, colorful t-shirts, and hand-built robots flocked to the Jacob Javits Center this past weekend for New York City’s 20th annual robotics competition.

Students in grades four to eight competed against each other for the best robot design, presentation, research, and teamwork. Their robots had to complete a series of tasks and winners took home trophies made of LEGOs. At the the high school level, students directed their robots around a playing field strewn with inner tubes, which had to be retrieved and hung up on metal poles (video here).

Winning high school teams will move onto the national championship in St. Louis, Missouri.