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Broadwater Brainiacs Take on the World Stage in Houston
Author: Roger Flynn, STOKE

Roger Flynn

STOKE

Houston Robotics

Broadwater Brainiacs Take on the World Stage in Houston.

Last week, the Broadwater Brainiacs headed to Houston, Texas to compete at the FIRST LEGO League World Championship. The event ran April 29 through May 2 and brought in more than 50,000 people across middle school and high school competitions. Out of more than 600,000 FIRST LEGO League participants worldwide, only about 0.2% make it this far. The Broadwater Brainiacs showed up ready, backed by an incredible group of coaches, mentors, and a community that has supported them from the very beginning.

They competed alongside teams from all 50 U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and more than 50 countries across six continents, including countries like Brazil, Japan, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Rwanda, Estonia, Australia, Romania, Uruguay, Morocco, and South Africa. For a small-town team, just being part of that group is something special.

This year’s theme was “Unearthed,” focusing on archaeology. For their Innovation Project, the team created an app to help archaeologists document stone features like tipi rings. What used to take hours or even days can now be done much faster using LiDAR scanning and photogrammetry to capture and map structures in detail. The team got the chance to present their idea to judges and talk with other teams from around the world, which was a huge highlight.

At Houston Museum of Natural Science, they were given a private tour of the dinosaur exhibit and even got to talk with paleontologists working on real specimens. It was one of those moments you don’t forget.

The robot game brought a whole new level of competition. The robots on that field were impressive. Every match gave the Brainiacs a chance to learn, adjust, and push themselves. They stayed positive, worked together, and came away with experience that will stick with them.

The trip wasn’t just about competition. At Johnson Space Center, the team visited the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and watched astronauts training underwater for future missions to the moon. They also got to see mission control, which gave them a real look at how space missions come together. It was a powerful reminder that just because you come from a small town in Montana does not mean you cannot aim for something bigger. Experiences like this can open up new possibilities and expand what these students see for their future.

“Seeing astronauts training underwater at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab was something I’ll never forget. It gave me a whole new respect for what it takes to train for space missions. Seeing all the students from around the world was crazy. It was cool to see how their minds worked and how they approached problems differently. It showed me that no matter where you’re from, you have to be able to work as a team and communicate, especially when everyone thinks a little different.”

— Jayden Flynn, Broadwater Brainiacs team member

This trip came after eight months of hard work designing, building, and improving both their robot and their project. Earlier this season, that effort paid off when they won the Montana state competition and earned their spot in Houston. They did not bring home a top award from Houston, but the growth these students experienced on this journey will last far longer than any trophy.

During the awards ceremony, a message from FIRST leadership summed it up well:

“This whole thing we call FIRST and FIRST LEGO League is not actually about the robot. It’s not actually about the kids building the robots. It is the other way around. We are using the robots to build the kids.”

— Chris Rake

The team includes Andrew Beatty, Jayden Flynn, Titus Kirksey, Everett Kirksey, Sky Sellay, Karter Schmaus, Kathryn Six, Erilyn Strait, and Courtney Webber. They were supported by mentors Aiden Kitto, Karolyn Schmaus, Trenton Essary, Cooper Nichter, and Kay Crusch, along with coaches Jessica Crusch, Dr. Adam Six, Dr. Lisa Brown, Spencer Sellay, Jim Strait, and Roger Flynn.

This experience wouldn’t have happened without the support of the community. Local businesses, families, and individuals stepped up in big ways to help get this team to the world stage. A special thank you goes to STOKE for believing in this program from the beginning and continuing to support it every step of the way.

The Broadwater Brainiacs represented Townsend well and showed what can happen when a group of kids is given the chance to learn, grow, and take on something big.

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PhotoCredit: Roger Flynn
Image 1 Caption: Students, mentors and coaches standing in front of NASA Mission Control. The tour of the NASA facilities was a major highlight. Photo Credit: Roger Flynn **Unprintable- fuzzy & cut off**
Image 2 Caption: Everett Kirksey (left) and Kathryn Six (right) prepare for competition as referees make final adjustments. Photo Credit: Roger Flynn
Image 3 Caption: The Broadwater Brainiacs take a moment to snap a picture in front of the Championship backdrop. From left to right: Courtney Webber, Kathryn Six, Sky Sellay, Erilyn Strait, Everett Kirksey, Karter Schmaus, Andrew Beatty, Titus Kirksey, Jayden Flynn. Photo Credit: Roger Flynn
Image 4 Caption: Twins, Everett and Titus Kirksey, at NASA’s neutral buoyancy lab. They watched the astronauts train in the pool in their spacesuits with a replica of the space station to mimic weightlessness in space! Photo Credit: Sarah Kirksey
Image 5 Caption: Students, mentors and coaches standing in front of NASA Mission Control. The tour of the NASA facilities was a major highlight. Photo Credit: Sarah Kirksey