Press Release
WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools recently celebrated its ninth year of partnership with Zimmer Biomet and the Zimmer Biomes Foundation with the annual elementary robotics showcase.
The 2024 elementary robotics showcase, held on April 27 at the Warsaw Community High School TRAC, was another success, thanks to the generous support and the hands-on involvement from Zimmer Biomet and the Zimmer Biomes Foundation. From providing funding for t-shirts and supplies plus volunteer time, their help was invaluable. This event showcases the incredible programming and engineering skills of students from all WCS elementary schools.
Every year, the showcase is kicked off by the crafting of unique programming and engineering challenges that push each student to tackle real-world problems through coding and robotics. This year, students navigated challenges like rescuing a hiker or retrieving waffle balls with their Hungry Hippo robots.
Robotics clubs began meeting weekly in late January, guided by dedicated WCS teachers, paraprofessionals, and parent volunteers, spending weeks mastering coding and engineering. This preparation paid off at the showcase.
“WCS is proud to offer our elementary students a large number of extra and co-curricular sports, clubs, organizations and opportunities in the arts,” said WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert. “In partnership with Zimmer Biomet, WCS hosted a robotics competition. Over 200 students from the eight elementary schools participated in the robotics competitions. We are extremely proud of the students and their hard work in the STEM fields. These skills exemplify the skill sets needed for the next generation of our local orthopedic and STEM industry.”
Logistics were a team effort with contributions from across the community: Kerry Stogsdill and Randy Wallen managed the transport of competition boards; Marc Huffer and his fifth period class crafted the Hungry Hippo boards; Scott Green’s media class produced WCS’s first-ever robotics showcase video; and volunteers from Everwise, Orthoworx, WCS staff and students, and many others helped the event run smoothly.
“Being entrusted with the opportunity to showcase WCS elementary students’ work in robotics is not just a privilege, but a profound honor,” said STEM Instructional Coach Dan Graney. “It’s a testament to WCS’s dedication, innovation, and the belief in the transformative power of technology to shape our future.”
