Bushwick’s Washington Irving Library wins Robotics League Championship

January 27, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

The champions and other teammates held their heads high, and worked hard on their robotic creations that applied STEM concepts to Legos. Photos: Gregg Richards/Brooklyn Public Library

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BUSHWICK — A team from Bushwick’s Washington Irving Library branch won top honors at the BKLYN Library’s Robotics League Championship this week, topping 14 other teams and earning a spot in the citywide championship later this year. The second- and third-place winners were from Kings Bay and New Lots Libraries and will join Washington Irving Library to compete in the citywide competition.

The BKLYN Library Robotics League, in partnership with NYC First, is a free 10-week program in which children and teens, ages 9 to 17, learn how to strategize, design code, and build robots, exploring STEM concepts and meeting new friends along the way. Most importantly, participants learn valuable skills for the future including problem-solving, time management, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.

The program, which began in 2017, will expand over the next two years, thanks to teen initiative funding provided by Mayor Eric Adams in last year’s city budget. These funds will cover additional equipment, supplies, training and staffing for the League.

“Congratulations to the Washington Irving Library branch for winning the BKLYN Library’s Robotics League Championship. Programs like this and teen centers offer young people a space where they can connect with each other in person, learn new technical skills and how to collaborate better, and receive social and emotional support,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “By investing funds in these teen initiatives, we are connecting our young people with extraordinary programs in technology to discover new passions, and will provide our city’s youth with the best we have to offer.”

The Library’s team of technical resource specialists, along with volunteers from the community, and NYC First, provide coaching for the teams.

Brooklyn Public Library offers tech programs for people of all ages, including the Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Techies internship and volunteer program; free courses in computer basics, coding, digital security, 3-D printing and more; and Teen Tech Centers at the Crown Heights and Kings Highway Libraries.

“I extend my congratulations to Washington Irving Library, the new BKLYN Robotics League champions, and my thanks to the staff and volunteers who guided this year’s participants in libraries across the borough,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO, Brooklyn Public Library. “Brooklyn Public Library is delighted to provide the next generation of scientists and engineers the opportunity to hone their coding skills.”