Portage IN Robotics

09/22/2026

A little race practice action between Robo matches.

09/22/2026

Priceless connections and life changing opportunities.

The Porta-Botz! ladies hit the bricks to seek out women drivers and crew members. Jackpot!

With the pits open for Robo kids to meet drivers, drive teams and engineers. They were welcomed with open arms. The conversations were authentic and future opportunities discussed.

Aubree and Kenzie connected with this driver who shared valuable information and her phone number to reach out as post secondary education is around the corner.

Interestingly enough, Purdue Indianapolis offers Motor Sports Engineering, and one of our Porta-Botz! Grads is in the program.

Another Porta-Botz! team was approached by a major college and world renowned robotics team with the offer of mentorship. The generous offer was immediately accepted.

This is a small peek of how supportive the robotics and engineering communities genuinely are.

Who knows what the future holds, but the door of opportunity just opened wide.

09/20/2026

Congrats Porta-Botz! middle schoolers team Zoinks! Speedway Signature Event “Inspire Award” winners.

Zoinks! grabbed the attention of the judges by successfully defending their Robot, Design Process, and documentation. They explained their CAD and programming with demonstrations of each for well-balanced team interviews.

The Inspire Award goes to a team who is The "Complete Package": They must show a well-rounded balance of solid engineering, good design, active community engagement, and gracious team behavior.

Great job Jakob, Lucas, Maddy, Cooper, and Jackson. You’re fine Ambassadors of the Portage Schools and Community!

09/20/2026

An amazing and rigorous experience. Life long memories. Lasting connections. Impactful lessons.

Beyond the Wow Factor, the Porta-Botz! had a defining weekend. With mere carcasses for bots last week, the tournament expectation was simply gaining experience at the highest level. But, nothing accelerates innovation like real-time, high stakes demands. The kids responded with objectivity, resilience, and teamwork. They leave with a new vision and a notebook full of new tasks.

Middle School team Zoinks! led the Porta-Botz! going 4-5 in a loaded high school field. They were one scoring maneuver away from being 5-4. Zoinks! had 2 in depth judging interviews, and rebuilt their element-grabbing system after day 1 to become efficient scorers.

Maverick was 2-7. Their record was deceiving as matches were tight. No easy schedules at Speedway. The valuable takeaways will define the next few weeks.

Uncle Grandpa got their first, hard earned win. Despite 3 self inflicted match losses, they’re scratching the surface of their potential and were formulating bot iterations on the ride home.

This is just what the Porta-Botz! needed.

Time management is key with the Caston tournament on the horizon.

09/19/2026

Follow the Robo action at Speedway on YouTube!

Day 2 Speedway Signature Event

09/19/2026

The Senior recognition “Final Lap” ceremony. Cole, Kayden, and Bailey. Congrats!

They also met with Purdue University recruiters to discuss next year’s possibilities.

For many Porta-Botz! Grads over the years, that’s been their next stop in life’s journey.

09/19/2026

The Greatest Spectacle in Robotics.

The Porta-Botz! are at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Battle on the Bricks Signature world qualifying event. This is an incredible experience coinciding with race qualifications and free tickets to the main event for students and families. Race Pits are open for students to explore and interact with race teams. The roar can be heard in the Robo arena!

Making history, this is the earliest the Porta-Botz! have ever competed. Opening the season vs the top teams in the country is a priceless dose of “reality therapy” unreproducible in the lab.

As expected the teams are responding in real time making the necessary modifications as the learning curve is sharp.

Maverick and Zoinks have picked up wins. Uncle Grandpa had an oops and forfeited a win. With mechanical issues fixed they look forward to the first W.

Race Drivers have made appearances at the tournament and had a forum for the Robo crowd.

And, the team parents are here in full support!

09/04/2026

With the evening build session complete, it’s time for a treat! Thank you for the Minecraft crumbl cookies!

08/31/2026

New Robo Lab Open this week 8/31-9/04: 2:45-5:30 PM Daily w/ Thu. until 6:00 PM. Enter Door F.

08/18/2026

Robo Lab Schedule the rest of the week: Wed, Thu, Fri, 4:00-6:00PM.

Watch The "Mall of America" VEX Override Signature tournament!