The 8th grade robotics students competed in the 20th annual Lego Robotics Competition hosted by FHSU Science and Mathematics Education Institute on March 31, 2026. This year 24 schools and 310 students participated in the event. Mattie Carroll, Maci Hurst, Sydney Birt, Clara Grafel and Andy Hansen all designed, built and programmed their individual robots to compete in the 'Whoops' event. In this event, each robot had to traverse a series of ¾ inch PVC pipe “ladder” rungs as quickly as possible. The Whoops event emphasizes traversing low-level obstacles that the NASA  VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will explore on the deepest part of selected craters in the moon’s polar regions. The Rawlins County students competed well and had a great educational experience.