Harris County Department of Education is gearing up for the first-ever Ecobot Challenge Robotic Competition hosted by Academic and Behavioral School West in collaboration with CASE for Kids.

The challenge, which began this week, will offer approximately 47 students with intellectual, developmental and behavioral disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and other significant health impairments enrolled at ABS West the opportunity to build, code, and learn to maneuver Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot kits.

Students from the fourth grade to age 22 will participate in seven teams, which will compete against one another in the culminating Ecobot Challenge Day at ABS West at 12:30 p.m. on July 15.

Over the next month, the students will work on the robots while following a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. For each lesson they complete, the teams are awarded points.

Historically, the Ecobot Challenge is held during the school year for student teams from Harris County school districts. The students, who attend traditional public schools and do not have special needs, work on their robots throughout the school year leading up to a Challenge Day during the spring semester.

This summer’s Ecobot Challenge will be the first time that special needs students enrolled at ABS West will have the opportunity to participate in the popular STEM-focused competition.