Sixth graders from Idaho Falls preparing for international underwater robotics competition

IDAHO FALLS — Two teams of students from Westside Elementary School are set to compete in the international SeaPerch underwater robotics competition in Maryland in late May.

Kaylyn Griffiths, a teacher at Westside Elementary School and coach for the SeaPerch robotics teams, said this is the first year the school will be sending students to the international competition, as two teams beat out 36 other teams in a regional competition. They look to be the only Idaho students who will be competing against hundreds of students from around the world.

“I was pretty ecstatic that we got both of our teams in the top qualifying spots and they’re both from Westside Elementary, both sixth graders,” Griffiths said.

McKenna Taggart, a 12-year-old from Westside Elementary School, said her all-girls team, the “Soaring Sharks,” felt very nervous during the recent regional competition.

“A lot of us had a ton of butterflies the whole time, because we were just waiting for a long time for the awards. But it was fine in the end, because we ended up getting first,” Taggart said.

“I think that for the girls, the reason that they beat out the other teams is that they were so calm and the communication was very clear,” Griffiths said.

Taggart explained that they built their robot themselves from PVC pipe, utilizing a design manual. Once it was built, they had to add on attachments like motors, to make the robot move, and prongs to pick up objects underwater. The buoyancy of the robot is then controlled using a balloon and a basketball pump.

The competition consists of three parts.

One is a timed obstacle course, in which the robot must navigate a series of underwater hoops.

The second part is called the mission course, where the robot must pick up underwater objects and move them to designated areas within a set time limit, earning points each time they succeed.

The third section of the competition is to write a seven-page report on how the team built their robot, the problems they encountered along the way, and what they’ll do at the competition.

During the competition, each team member had a task. One drove the robot, one managed the cord that tethered the robot to its controls, and one acted as a spotter, telling the driver what they needed to do.

Bentley Boucha, another 12-year-old from Westside Elementary set to compete in internationals, said his team — the “Underwater Conquistadors” — placed second at the regional competition. He said he was also very nervous.

“My strategy was to already act like I won, talking about how we already won, we got this, trying to be overly confident so I was less terrified,” Boucha said.

Boucha said his favorite part of SeaPerch is being with his friends.

Griffiths said the only thing still standing between the teams and the international competition is fundraising, and she’s asking the local community for help.

“We’ve already got several logos and several donors, but due to our rising fuel costs, currently our flight expenses from Idaho all the way to Maryland are quite expensive,” Griffiths said.

If local businesses want to donate $250 or more, the SeaPerch teams will place the business’s name on their travel shirts listed as “Westside’s biggest fans.” If businesses donate $500 or more, they’ll have their logo on the shirt.

To donate, Griffiths said community members can contact her at grifkayl@sd9l.org.