Idaho robotics team gears up for national competition in Washington D.C.

The Project Impact STEM Academy robotics team, known as The Quackens, is set to represent Idaho on a national stage in Washington, D.C. The team has been selected by Gov. Brad Little to compete in the United States Governors Cup, a prestigious event that brings together elite robotics teams from all 50 states.

Team captain and programmer Kaia Peterson explained the competition’s unique challenges: “We have a playing field that we have to complete different tasks on so this year we have to shoot balls into a goal and our goal is to pick up they look like wiffle balls, there’s purple ones and there’s green ones and we call them artifacts and your goal is to pick up artifacts and shoot them into the goals. And once you shoot them into the goals they roll down into these ramps that are called classifiers and if you put the artifacts in the classifiers in a certain order, you get a motif you get pattern points, for having them in a certain order so you wanna score them in the goal but you also want to get them in the certain pattern.”

The competition will test not only their engineering skills but also their teamwork, problem-solving, and ability to strategize with alliance partners. “One of the reasons we go and talk to other teams is so we can be one of their choices for an alliance because you really wanna talk and develop those connections with teams cause you’re going to have a higher chance to be in the finals, that and having a good robot,” Peterson said.

Being chosen to represent Idaho is an honor the students are taking seriously. “Even now as we’re preparing to go to D.C we’re trying to make as many changes as we can to be better than we were at state when we go to D.C.,” Peterson added.

However, the trip comes with significant costs, including travel, accommodations, and competition fees. The Quackens have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are only $500 away from reaching their goal to make their dream a reality. Those interested in supporting Idaho’s best and brightest can donate through their GoFundMe campaign.