Madison Reporter

Thirty days before their inaugural robotics competition, the Sun Prairie high schools’ robotics club faced the challenge of building a team and creating a functional robot. Despite unexpected hurdles, such as performing surgery on their robot during the event, they won the Rookie All-Star Award. This accolade not only recognized their efforts but also secured them future competition opportunities.

Curtis Mould, the club’s advisor, remarked, “We built an award-winning robot in 30 days. This blew people's minds when we were at the competition because some teams had six months to build.”

The competition was organized by FIRST Robotics, a nonprofit that encourages youth to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through practical robotics competitions. The organization provides students with connections to internships and scholarships while engaging professional engineers as judges.

Sun Prairie West High School has long envisioned establishing a robotics program. The newly formed Sun Prairie Robotics team, SPR10522, offers students from Sun Prairie West and East high schools an opportunity to learn coding, manufacturing, engineering, leadership, and teamwork skills. They are also supported by student mentors from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Zion Johnson, a senior at West and lead coder for the team stated: “Our team values collaboration, communication, and hands-on learning. While we’ve faced challenges and made a few mistakes along the way...we always problem-solve effectively.”

The club's inception was facilitated by a grant from the Department of Public Instruction covering entry fees. Additional funding came from grants like one from the Argosy Foundation for purchasing equipment.

Looking forward to its second year, SPR10522 aims to grow its membership and enhance fundraising initiatives. The team is seeking students interested in marketing roles for these efforts. Community support is also essential as they work towards offering a dedicated robotics course within schools.

Mould emphasized community engagement saying: “There’s a deep pool of technical talent in our community in Sun Prairie...and we need to draw them in.”

Sun Prairie Robotics plans to launch its Lego League Robotics team this fall for younger students in 4th and 5th grades. They will host a regional Lego League competition at West High School in January 2026. For more information about the program or involvement opportunities contact Curt Mould at cdmould@sunprairieschools.org.