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Robotics

Designing, Building, Programming, and Driving Robots

At Hewitt, every student gets hands-on experience designing, building, programming, and driving robots. Beginning in lower school, students learn foundational programming skills using VEX 123 and VEX GO, two robotics platforms designed especially for young learners. In middle and high school, students continue to study robotics through their classes and also have the option to join Hewitt Robotics, our competitive VEX EDR and VEX IQ robotics programs. 

Four students stand in front of a banner that reads %22VEX Robotics World Championship%22

Hewitt is the only girls’ school in New York City with a competitive VEX Robotics program.

Highlights of Our Robotics Program

Two young girls in a workshop are focused on a project, with shelves of tools and equipment visible in the background.

Middle schoolers practice building circuitry, microcontroller programming, and structural fabrication.

A young woman in the foreground works on a complex metal robot, while the background shows a cluttered workshop with tools and equipment.

Robotics students explore fundamental mechanical engineering principles such as motor control, gear ratios, and propulsion systems.
 

A student lies on her stomach moving a Beebot along a colorful neighborhood map on the floor.

As they engineer bridges and program Beebots to travel through a mock neighborhood, lower schoolers learn how to communicate cardinal directions and navigate their robots in a tactile environment.

Four young girls in school uniforms are engaged in a robotics activity at a table with laptops and a track layout in the foreground, while other students and a teacher are visible in the classroom background.

By constructing vehicles and programming them to navigate roadways, K-4 students learn computer science concepts such as sequences, conditionals, loops, and debugging.

Three upper school students stand at the Hewitt Robotics booth with their pink robot, Princess Chainsaw Kitty, on the table in front of them

After earning a spot at the VEX Robotics World Championship, Hewitt Robotics Team Y traveled to Dallas, Texas to compete against the top teams in the world. 

A student sits in profile with an iPad and small LEGO train in front of her.

Through robotics, students learn to ask questions and solve real world problems. For example, Hewitt second graders use LEGO robotics kits to build earthquake simulators that test the stability of their mini structures.

Three students stand at the edge of the robotics field. There is a robot on the field a large black and yellow sign that says %22VEX IQ Robotics Competition Rapid Relay%22

Middle schoolers practice for an upcoming VEX competition in the Hewitt Robotics lab.

A student sits at a table working on building a blue robot

As middle school students construct robots using LEGO-like VEX IQ kits, they develop the strong design and building foundation they will need for Hewitt’s high school robotics program.  

Three young girls in school uniforms collaborate on a robotics project at a table in a classroom with a whiteboard in the background.

In Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Robotics, high school students practice project planning, resource management, team leadership, risk assessment, budgeting, and effective communication between teammates. 

A young girl looks intently at a laptop screen next to a colorful LEGO creation of a crane and figures, with drawings on a wall visible in the background.

In grades K-4, girls use VEX and LEGO Robotics kits for hands-on learning about motors, color sensors, light matrices, wheels and axles, and balancing forces. 

Two young girls in school uniforms work on a STEM project with laptops and wires in a classroom with shelves of supplies in the background.

Lower schoolers engineer handmade instruments, then use microcontrollers to activate their Scratch-programmed animations such as sounds, color changes, and a variety of interactive elements.

A young woman in the foreground holds a complex robotic device, while the background is filled with shelves of tools and equipment in a workshop.

Hewitt Robotics students integrate knowledge across multiple engineering disciplines as they refine their prototyping skills and design, build, and program robotic systems.

A group of smiling girls in matching t-shirts pose with a trophy in the foreground, while a large Google logo is projected on a screen in the background.

Hewitt Robotics students routinely earn competition accolades such as the Innovate Award, which this team won at the Southern New York VEX Robotics State Championship.

Three smiling girls in the foreground hold a trophy in front of a large screen displaying competition results.

Middle schoolers proudly show off the Energy Award they won at the VEX Robotics State Championships. 

Five young women in navy blue shirts and jeans pose with a metal robot in front of a brick building with %221964%22 inscribed on it.

Each season, middle and high school students travel to VEX Robotics competitions throughout New York.

Four smiling girls pose with a VEX robotics award in the foreground, while a gymnasium with tables and equipment is visible in the background.

An upper school Hewitt Robotics team wins the prestigious Design Award in recognition of their “organized and professional approach to the Engineering Design Process, project and time management, and team organization.”

In the foreground, a group of young people observe a robotics competition on a grid-lined table, while in the background, a brick wall and curtains frame the event.

At local VEX Robotics events, students in grades 5-8 compete against peers from across NYC. 

Hewitt Robotics teams have won awards and recognition at regional, state, national, and world championships.

Hewitt Robotics shield with a blue, orange, and white Hawk graphic

Hewitt Robotics Accolades

Since the program began in 2015, Hewitt Robotics teams have earned an impressive list of accolades, including:

VEX State Championships

  • NY VEX V5 Tournament Finalist 
  • NY VEX V5 Sportsmanship Award Winner
  • NY VEX V5 Excellence Award Winner
  • NY VEX V5 Think Award Winner 
  • NY VEX V5 Amaze Award Winner 
  • NY VEX V5 Teamwork Award Winner 
  • NY VEX IQ Excellence Award Winner 
  • NY VEX IQ Design Award Winner
  • NY VEX IQ Teamwork Challenge Winner 
  • NY VEX IQ Robotics Skills Award Winner

VEX United States Open Championships

  • 1 x Tournament Finalists 

VEX World Championships

  • 12 Invitations to the VEX World Championships 
  • 1 x VEX Worlds Sportsmanship Award Winner (2022)
  • Ranked 4th place out of 80 in the Technology Division (2018)
  • Ranked 19th overall out of 3000 teams (2017)