WARSAW — The Warsaw High School Career Center had crowds that were elbow-to-elbow yesterday, Saturday, May 14, as the fourth, fifth and sixth graders from Warsaw Community School’s had their first Robotics Showcase.

A donation from Zimmer-Biomet enabled all eight Warsaw school’s to be on equal ground in learning robotics, as some schools already had robots.

The general air in the Career Center was camaraderie. Teamwork played a huge part in preparing the robots for the showcase. Two students, sometimes three, teamed up to create and program their robot. Jennifer Zaugg, mother of 11-year-old Elijah said, “This helps with problem-solving and if things break how to deal with it.”

The event lasted from 10 a.m. until noon. Student Sumo Battles started at 10 a.m. and lasted four rounds, ending at 11 a.m. The students were then told to pass off their iPads with robot controls to a parent or family member, a teacher or another adult for “celebrity” battles, which lasted until 11:45 a.m. The last 15 minutes of the event were Ultimate Battles, which were two against two.

The Maze Runs continued through the entire event. The teams programmed their robots to run a maze autonomously and three attempts per turn. If the robot didn’t perform as hoped, the students could make modifications to their robots and try the maze again.

Even at the ending of the showcase, the crowds were still elbow-to-elbow and were already talking about next year’s event as they headed toward the exits. Earlier in the day, 10-year-old Konnor McGlennen said, “Next year I’m doing the same and working on the back (of the robot). Next year will be better.”