Millburn’s Robotics Team Takes On World's Largest Competition

MILLBURN, NJ - After being crowned tournament champions at six out of six regional tournaments in which they competed, Millburn High School’s VEX Robotics team 7405P is headed to the World Championship.

Millburn Phreak Show, their official name, is ranked as one of the top skills teams in the world and will be competing Louisville Kentucky April 24-27.

In April 2018, The VEX Robotics World Championship, a program of Innovation First International run by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation was named the largest robotics competition in the world by Guinness World Records in April 2018.

“Our team has proven to be one of the best in our region, and we are ready to take it to a more competitive level," team Captain Bryan Levine said. "It'll be a great experience at the least, competing against 500 teams from 30 different countries.”

According to Innovation First International, which developed the VEX Robotics program, VEX classes aren’t solely meant to train future engineers. They’re designed to provide a framework for teaching everything from math and computer science to life skills like teamwork, project management and critical thinking.

Teams of students design, build and code robots each year to play a brand-new game, with thousands of competition events held annually in all 50 US states and over 40 countries. In this year’s game, “Turning Point,” robots are designed to shoot balls that toggle flags, flip and place caps on poles, and park the robot on platforms, as well as maximize scoring during a pre-programmed autonomous period. Competitions are action-packed as two-team alliances maximize every second of play to score and de-score points.

Millburn High School has three VEX Robotics teams 7405M, 7405N and 7405P and FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) team 8405, all of which had excellent seasons where they consistently placed in the final rounds of all tournaments in which they competed, and consistently brought back Excellence, Design, Think and Skills awards.

“The Millburn Robotics teams have had an incredible season. Their hard work and dedication have paid off with an invitation to compete at the world stage," Faculty advisor and co-head of the MHS Robotics Program Hilton Seibert said. "I am excited to see what they can do against the world's best.”

The home of Millburn Robotics is the MILL (Millburn Innovative Learning Lab), the state-of-the-art learning and maker space opened this year thanks to the vision and investment of Board of Education and Education Foundation of Millburn Short Hills. Team members can be found at the MILL at all hours – lunchtime, late nights and weekends – working diligently to perfect their robots.

There is a high cost of $10,000 for the students, faculty advisors and robot to travel to the four-day competition in Kentucky. One of the key fundraising efforts to help get the team to Worlds is MHS Robotics Open House - Demo Day on March 31, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with a $10 donation per person.

There will be fun and educational activities for all ages, including hands-on robotics demos, mini-coding workshops, rocketry, LEGO spot, 3D printing and more. MHS Robotics merchandise, 3D-printed initials and refreshments will be available for purchase.

“We are proud to invite the community to experience the state of the art facility at Millburn High School," Faculty Advisor and co-head of the MHS Robotics program David Farrell said. "Demo day will be a fun and engaging event that the whole family will enjoy.”

Those who cannot attend that would like to make a donation may do so through this website.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter by clicking here. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading our Apple iOS app here, or by visiting the Google Play store for the Android app here.