VEX Parents Start Here

Welcome to the VEX Community!

We’re excited that your student is learning with VEX Robotics! Whether they are building and coding a robot in a classroom, preparing for a competition, or exploring robotics for the first time, your student is joining a community of learners, educators, mentors, and families who value curiosity, creativity, and hands-on problem solving.

So, what does it mean to be the parent or caregiver of a student involved with robotics? It means you have a front-row seat to watch your student grow as a thinker, teammate, designer, coder, builder, and problem solver. Robotics gives students an engaging way to explore STEM while practicing skills that extend far beyond the classroom or competition field.

As students work with VEX, they may explore topics like:

• Engineering design as they build, test, and iterate on robot designs.
• Coding and computational thinking as they create coding projects that control robot behavior.
• Sensors and data as they practice collecting data and using it to make decisions.
• Automation and robotics as they explore how robots can complete tasks.
• Strategy and problem solving as they plan, troubleshoot, and refine ideas with others.
• Collaboration and communication as they work with teammates, share ideas, and learn from others.

Most importantly, robotics is exciting and gives students opportunities to wonder, create, compete, collaborate, and celebrate what they can accomplish. This article will give you an overview of learning with VEX and ways to support your student as they work with robots in the classroom or in a competition setting.

A Student-Centered Robotics Experience

VEX Robotics is designed to be student-centered. This means students are not just following directions or watching adults solve problems — they are actively building, coding, testing, documenting, reflecting, and making decisions throughout their robotics experience.

VEX Robotics Competitions give students the opportunity to design, build, code, and compete with robots in an annual game challenge. Each season introduces a new game with its own field, scoring objects, rules, strategies, and engineering challenges.

In the Classroom

In the classroom, VEX curriculum supports hands-on learning. Through inquiry, classroom competitions, collaboration, and student self-assessment, teachers create opportunities for exploration and facilitate student learning and growth. Learn more about curricular resources at education.vex.com.

In Competition

In competitions, being student-centered is central to the VEX experience. Students are expected to do the work of the team, including designing, building, coding, driving, strategizing, documenting, and presenting their learning. Coaches, mentors, and parents are there to support students — but not to do the work for them. For example, adults can ask guiding questions to help students figure out a modification for their robot. Adults cannot fix the robot, write the code, make design decisions, or direct students’ strategy during a competition. This helps ensure that the robot and the team’s success truly represent student learning, effort, and ownership.

VEX competitions are also collaborative, not cutthroat. Teams work with alliance partners in every VEX competition. In VEX V5 Robotics Competitions, two alliances compete against each other. In the VEX IQ Robotics Competition, one alliance works together against the clock to earn the highest score they can. These alliance-based formats help students practice communication, cooperation, flexibility, and gracious professionalism in authentic ways. Learn more about this year's competitions at competition.vex.com.

Success in VEX is about more than match scores. Awards such as the Excellence Award recognize well-rounded teams that demonstrate strong performance as well as thoughtful engineering design, documentation, collaboration, interviews, and student ownership. This reinforces that robotics is not just about winning; it is about learning, improving, contributing to a team, and growing as a problem solver. Learn more about supporting a positive team culture with this article for IQ teams or this one for V5 teams.

Building Lifelong Learners

Throughout VEX Robotics, failure is treated as an opportunity to learn. A robot that does not work the first time, a coding project that needs debugging, and a competition strategy that needs revising are all part of the process. Progress is valued as much as the final outcome, because each challenge gives students the chance to build confidence, resilience, and ownership of their learning. 

All of these — collaboration, communication, persistence, resilience, critical thinking, and problem solving — are skills that support a mindset that will serve students in STEM learning and well into their futures. No matter what field students go into after their robotics journey with VEX, the 21st-century skills they gain will help them become successful contributors in their communities and workplaces.

Supporting Your Robotics Student

You do not need to be an engineer, programmer, or STEM professional to support your student in robotics. Your interest, encouragement, and presence can make a big difference. Whether your student is participating in a classroom STEM Lab, joining a competition team, or attending an event, there are many ways families can help students feel confident, connected, and excited about learning.

In this video interview, a robotics parent and student at the VEX Robotics World Championship talk about what it was like to join the VEX community. Their story shows that families do not need to have all the answers when a student first gets involved. Sometimes the most important thing a parent or caregiver can do is learn alongside their student, connect with the community, and support them as they grow. 

Talk About What They Are Learning

Asking your student to explain what they are building, coding, testing, or improving helps them strengthen their understanding and take pride in their learning. Try asking questions like:

• What challenge are you working on right now?
• What is one thing your robot can do now that it could not do before?
• What problem did you run into, and how are you trying to solve it?
• How did your group or team make decisions?
• What is something you learned from a mistake or failed test?
• Where do you see robotics, coding, engineering, or data being used in the real world?

These conversations can help students connect robotics to future opportunities. The skills students practice with VEX — problem solving, teamwork, communication, coding, design, testing, and persistence — are used in many career fields, from engineering and computer science to manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, transportation, entertainment, and more.

Get Involved in Meaningful Ways

There are many ways to support your student without doing the work for them. Depending on your student’s robotics experience, you might:

• Talk with the coach or teacher to learn what kind of support would be most helpful.
• Help with team logistics, such as transportation, snacks, schedules, fundraising, or event planning.
• Support team identity and spirit by helping with shirts, decorations, displays, or other team materials.
• Share your skills or expertise as a mentor, guest speaker, or supportive adult who can ask questions and offer guidance.
• Volunteer at a competition event to help make the day run smoothly and get a closer look at the excitement of robotics. There are often roles for adults and children at events, so both parents and siblings can volunteer.
• Cheer for teams and celebrate growth, effort, teamwork, and learning — not just scores or awards.
• Stay connected to classroom learning by reading communications from the teacher, such as Letters Home, and asking your student about what they are discovering.

Whether at home, in the classroom, or at a competition, your support helps students see that their learning matters.

Helpful Resources

Want to learn more about VEX Robotics and how to support your student? Explore these VEX resources: