"Machinery on a Mission: Space Race"
Grades 3-5

Robot Game Overview

Robots are perfectly suited to go and do things that are difficult, costly, time-consuming, or dangerous for humans. In this year’s robotic tournament, you will design a robotic solution for such an occurrence!

Collaboration, teamwork, creativity, and vivid imaginations are highly encouraged.
Teams are given a certain amount of time to complete each challenge. Time limits for each challenge are TBD and posted in early March.
Each challenge's points are added to determine the Space Race's overall winner.
Each team (no more than 4 members/team) will be assigned 1 robot to use during the competition by the sponsor.
Spike Prime movements within the arena are coding challenges unless otherwise stated in the rules.
Playing fields must be transported to the district tournament.
Spike and Spike Expansion kits are available for checkout through the IT department's helpdesk.

This tournament should be fun, while also encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and coding skills with the Spike robots!

Timeline - TBD

Note: At this time the tournament developers will be working on the official time to complete the course for the tournament. Be watching for IMPORTANT announcements and course updates forthcoming.

3 Missions

Mission 1: Planet Landing - Pick your planet to navigate.

Objective: The Spike robot must safely navigate a planet surface simulation (a small obstacle course) and land on the designated "planet" landing spot.

Students program their Spike robots to avoid craters (obstacles) and navigate rough terrain (e.g., uneven surfaces or small ramps). The robot must move from the starting point to the landing pad without touching obstacles.

Mission 2: Rover Rescue

Objective: The Spike robot must rescue a stranded space rover.

Students will program their robot to move across a simulated planet terrain to reach and “rescue” a stranded rover (a small object like a block). The Spike robot must push or carry the rover back to the base within a certain time frame.

Mission 3: Satellite Assembly

Objective: The Spike robot must assemble a satellite by delivering parts (small objects) to specific assembly zones.

Students will program their robots to pick up satellite components (e.g., LEGO bricks or small parts) and deliver them to the designated assembly zones on a playing field. Each robot must deliver three separate components to complete the satellite. The robot should pick up, drag, or push each component, one at a time, to touch a designated human hand target on the floor. Once a component touches the target, it can be picked up by hand and assembled onto the satellite. This process must be repeated three times, with one component delivered each time.

The RUBRICS break down the key performance areas for each challenge, ensuring a clear scoring process for students and judges alike. The points emphasize not only successful task completion but also teamwork, problem-solving, and time management, making for a well-rounded competition.

Challenge Board/Mat:

The arena measurements will be a minimum of 44 inches by 56 inches. Teams may use butcher paper or taped poster boards to mark off designated areas with painter's tape or markers. Get creative building your playing field! The better it looks could earn you more points. The arena will be transported by the campus winning team to the district's level tournament to compete on May 6th, 2025 at Pike Middle School.

Peer Evaluations - TBD

Note: At this time the tournament developers will be working on the peer evaluation form for the tournament. Be watching for IMPORTANT announcements and course updates forthcoming.

Spike Tips and Tricks for the Teacher/Sponsor

NOTE: Each student on the team should be prepared to demonstrate an active understanding of their robot’s design, construction, and programming in the submitted video. SPIKE is a coded robot unless otherwise stated.

The SPIKE robot and its software can cause a few software problems with the coded projects on the Chromebook. Below are a few suggestions that might PREVENT bugs in your coding as per Lego:

Always make sure your browser and Chromebook are running the latest updates. If you are unsure what version of Chrome OS you are running contact the tech help desk. Settings > About Chrome > Check for Updates > Relaunch

Chunk coding projects and save each code (challenge task) as a different task file. Take screenshots, screencasts and/or pictures, and videos along the way in case you run into coding errors and you need to re-create any lost codes.

Lastly, designate a central storage area/system before beginning builds. (storage tubs for each team, charging station for charging hubs, etc)

Below is info from Lego about the launch of the Spike App. It is recommended students use this app for the NISD competition as there are some needed updates provided within the new app including easier connectivity from the hub to the Chromebook. The Spike App is in the TechnoCamp folder in the student's Chromebook portal. You may use either the downloaded or web version to code your bots. If you have any problems with the software, please contact helpdesk by phone @ x-81000 or email helpdesk@nisdtx.org.

It is recommended that students divide the code into smaller segments using a different program for each challenge. This will ensure that in the event the code data becomes corrupted, teams will not lose all their code.

Do not hesitate to contact your campus Instructional Technologist or Lego Support at 866-349-5346 if you have any questions.

**OPTIONAL: We highly encourage each robot team to create an Engineering Design Notebook (digital version). This is where you will document everything from start to finish. Remember to take pictures along the way to show learning both setbacks and successes. Each page of the notebook is labeled as to its requirements, please follow the directions on each page. The notebook can be digital (Be sure to share the journal with your sponsor and each team member.) or a physical scrapbook. Information Here

Awards

3-5 Overall Team Champion - Medals/ Team Trophy

3-5 GoGo Gadget - Team Certificate

3-5 Design Award - Team Certificate

3-5 Spirit and Sportsmanship - Team Certificate

Awards are sponsored by the Northwest Education Foundation