LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One Louisville school is traveling to Houston, Texas this week to compete in a worldwide science, technology, engineering and math tournament at the FIRST Championship.

What You Need To Know

  • The Cosmic Cows, a Lego robotics team at Louisville Collegiate School, are going to Texas for the FIRST Championship  

  • It's the second year the team has qualified for the science, technology, engineering and match tournament

  • The middle school robotics team is creating lasting impacts on participants 

  • The competition be livestreamed on April 17-20

Nessa Kaplan is in 8th grade at Louisville collegiate school. She’s a part of the Cosmic Cows, a STEM team with a knack for building Lego robots.

After qualifying at regional and state competitions, the Cosmic Cows are advancing to the largest youth STEM completion in the world in Houston, Texas this week at the FIRST championship.

 “A ton of different countries and different states in the United States coming together making the best robot they can create trying to do the best they can,” said Kaplan. 

This year, the competition is expecting 35,000 students, coaches, and supporters from 43 countries.

This is Kaplan and her team’s second year attending the tournament. 

Jon Coole has been leading the program for nine years. He says that this robotic program is creating lasting impacts with students.

“The upper school kids who were on the robotics team were just telling me that they’re majoring in engineering and they started when they were in middle school,” said Coole. 

And although it’s early for Kaplan to declare a major, she’s definitely enjoying her time on the robotics team.

“I’ve learned a lot and I’ve gotten able to have a lot of different experiences that I never would have had before and I just enjoy it so much,” said Kaplan. 

And the Cosmic Cows are ready to compete.

You can cheer the Cosmic Cows on at the 2024 FIRST Champion ship on April 17-20 on livestream.  

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