Beaufort County’s two FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) LEGO Robotics teams finished out the program’s second year strong this month at the regional competition in Winterville.

A team from P.S. Jones Middle School, coached by Letisia Padilla and Allen Bateman, competed for its second year, while a team from Washington Montessori Public Charter School, coached by Blake Johnson and Lois Omonde, competed for its first year, according to program coordinator Dr. Michael McClure.

The robotics program emphasizes the importance of STEM-based activities “to accelerate kids and excite them for learning,” he said.

McClure said the theme for competitions internationally was “Trash Trek,” which required participants to come up with ways to recycle or reuse trash.

“They had to research the (trash) problem … and then pick a particular trash problem and come up with a solution to try to deal with it,” McClure said.

One of the other main parts of the competition included robot design and performance, in which participants used LEGOs to build robot models, he said.

“It is so amazing to see their intellect come alive,” McClure said. “The salient feature of this program is that the kids do it all. The coaches are prohibited from doing it for them.”

Any participation in the program is volunteer-based, whether it’s a parent helping out at regional competitions or educators signing up to coach a team, he said. Interested groups can also apply for grant money to help start up a new team.

This year’s teams from Beaufort County placed 11^th and 14^th out of 26 total competitors, and McClure was given the Volunteer of the Year award for his role in starting the county’s teams and judging at competitions.

While they will not move on to the state-level competition, McClure said he sees a bright future ahead for the program in Beaufort County.

He said recruiting for next year’s teams starts in May, and he wants to work toward creating a high school team, along with growing the program at the middle-school level.

“This is an organized sport,” McClure said. “This sport is catching on like wildfire. … When it first started out at Winterville, they just had a couple of teams.”

The ultimate goal is to allow the students to increase their skills and creativity, while also sparking an interest in science and technology career fields.

“It is just extraordinary watching these little minds work. They are so capable of so much more than we expect,” McClure said. “It’s just one amazing experience for everyone involved.”