Young engineers from 20 elementary schools, five middle schools and two K-8 schools took to the fields at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto.
Fields are the areas of competition used during the VEX IQ Challenge.
The School District of Manatee County held their first one today.
Teams from Anna Maria Island to Myakka City worked together to score as many points as they could in one minute.
VEX Robotics hosts the world's largest robotics competition for students across the world using a robot of their own design.
Students build and program their robot before driving it on the challenge field in an effort to score high points.
A team from Samoset Elementary said they began planning and building their robot in November 2021.
Their teacher, who is also Manatee County's Teacher of the Year, Deelah Jackson, was at the convention center to offer her support and cheer them on.
She said her students are extremely dedicated and work hard, before and after school.
Manatee County's high school students served as judges, or referees.
According to Dr. Paul Gansemer, Executive Director of Adult, Career and Technical Education, Manatee County's VEX IQ Challenge will become an annual event.
He looks forward to welcoming more schools to the competition in 2023.