Vex Robotics: Search & Rescue

Become a robotic rescue-agent! In this hands-on 2 week-long camp, campers will design, build, and program VEX IQ robots to navigate disaster zones, detect obstacles, deliver safety gear, and save “victims” in a simulated rescue mission. Starting with the fundamentals of mechanical design and block-based coding, the camp ramps up to time-based challenges and a culminating team mission that mirrors real-world search & rescue scenarios.

Based on the official VEX Search & Rescue Camp model.

VEX Robotics is a competitive engineering program where students design, build, and program robots to solve a new challenge each year. Teams function like real engineering groups—taking on roles such as designer, builder, programmer, driver, strategist, and documenter—while learning how to prototype, test, fail, and iterate their way to a refined machine. A typical season spans 8–10 months, with teams producing dozens of redesigns, maintaining an engineering notebook, and collaborating intensely to improve performance week after week.

Competitions include three major components: Team Matches, where alliances face off 2-on-2; Robot Skills, which measures pure driving and autonomous coding ability; and Judged Awards, which evaluate engineering documentation, communication, and design quality. Success is measurable and public—skills scores, match rankings, and awards provide objective signals of a student’s technical capability and teamwork.

VEX is also a meaningful advantage for college applications and scholarships. Universities and STEM programs value VEX because it demonstrates real, verifiable engineering experience—mechanical design, coding, strategy, project management, and communication. Many colleges and partners offer dedicated robotics scholarships, and high-level achievements such as state or world qualification place students in a very selective tier. For students interested in engineering, computer science, or applied technology, VEX Robotics is one of the strongest extracurricular experiences they can showcase.