| | INSIDE THE BAY AREA’S PREMIER STEM PREP HUB | August 2026 |
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| | Robots for Every Age, and a Season Already Underway |
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August didn't wait for September. The 2026-27 season is already two tournaments deep, with our V5 and IQ teams playing Override and Level Up for the first time and bringing home awards to show for it. Also inside: the robotics platforms we teach for kids as young as kindergarten (and why we recommend starting there), a wrap on nine weeks of summer camp, the dates for One World at UC Berkeley, and a closer look at our AI Mastery program. Circle Sunday, September 6 for the Labor Day closure, then read on. Ready to level up? |
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Closed for Labor Day Weekend
All Robolabs centers will be closed for Labor Day weekend.
Sunday, September 6: all centers closed |
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| First Matches, First Awards, First Lessons |
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The 2026-27 competition season is officially underway, and Robolabs did not wait long to get on the field. Within one week in August we hosted our first VEX V5 and VEX IQ tournaments of the new game cycle, so both platforms have already had their first taste of real competition. After a summer of building, students finally got to put their Override and Level Up robots to the test: real matches, real referees, real scores.
Those first events matter for more than the trophies. A design that seemed solid in the lab gets its verdict in a two-minute match, and students came home with a much clearer picture of which strategies are starting to separate the top robots and where their own builds need to go next. Teams that compete this early have the whole fall ahead of them to act on it. |
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| V5 Opener: Override, August 15 |
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Our V5 teams opened the season on Saturday, August 15, in Dublin, with their first official matches of Override. It is a hard game, and we mean that as a compliment. The Pins turned out to be the real test: they are awkward to manipulate, stacks topple far more easily than anyone expected, and knocking Pins off a Goal can draw a penalty. One tournament in, the early lessons are already clear: more stable and reliable lift mechanisms, and faster, cleaner match loading. Robolabs teams turned in strong performances and multiple awards, and every team left with that list in hand and a head start on the next build. |
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| IQ Opener: Level Up, August 22 |
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One week later, on Saturday, August 22, our IQ teams took on Level Up for the first time. The field takes some getting used to (floor goals, pyramid goals in the corners, two narrow platforms in the middle, fences that split the field into lanes, and one beanbag per robot at a time), and the first time a team sees it, it reads like a puzzle. By the end of the day it reads like a map. Several Robolabs teams came away with awards, and every team came away with a better read on the strategies forming around the game. The recipe from here is simple: get a feel for the game, then practice, practice, practice. |
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| Robotics Starts Earlier Than You Think: VEX 123, VEX GO, and VEX AIM |
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Robotics at Robolabs doesn't start with competition. It starts with curiosity.
Most families know us for VEX IQ and VEX V5 (and a few know we also field FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams). What fewer families know is that we also teach the platforms VEX built for its youngest learners, and that our coaches are trained on them: VEX 123 (kindergarten to 2nd grade): a palm-sized robot that kids program by pressing buttons on its back and stacking coder cards. No screen required. Sequencing, loops, and "what happens if I..." thinking, disguised as play. VEX GO (3rd to 5th grade): the first real build. Snap-together parts, motors, and sensors become a robot car, a claw, a catapult, and whatever the kids dream up next, then come to life with drag-and-drop code. VEX AIM (4th grade and up): a coding robot with an AI vision sensor that can spot colored objects, chase a ball, and kick it. Students start in blocks and graduate to Python, which makes it a natural fit for the student who loves the code side of robotics most.
Here's how we recommend using them. New students in 1st through 3rd grade start on 123 and GO, where the goal is to get comfortable building, coding, and (most importantly) making mistakes and trying again. From 3rd grade on, students move up to VEX IQ, the platform that carries them into our competition teams, and AIM runs alongside IQ for students who want to go deeper on coding. It's one continuous path: from a child's first robot to competitive VEX teams and eventually advanced programs like VEX AI.
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| Save the Date: One World, November 21 to 23 at UC Berkeley |
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One World 2026 is coming back to UC Berkeley this fall, and the dates are set. Our signature VEX V5 event runs in two divisions at Pauley Ballroom: High School: Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22 Middle School: Sunday and Monday, November 22 and 23
Each division brings 64 teams from across the country and beyond to play Override at full speed.
It's worth circling even if your student isn't on a V5 team yet: a weekend on one of the world's great engineering campuses, robotics at the highest level, and a look at where the path can lead. Schedules and details will follow in the coming months. For now, hold the dates. |
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| | | 💡 RoboFact: A Robotics Path That Starts in Kindergarten
A Robotics Path That Starts in Kindergarten
VEX designs its platforms as one continuous ladder, and a student can climb the whole thing without ever switching ecosystems:
VEX 123 → VEX GO → VEX IQ → VEX V5 → VEX AI
A kindergartner presses buttons on a 123 robot. A 3rd grader snaps together a GO robot and codes it with blocks. A middle schooler builds and competes with IQ (or explores AI vision and Python with AIM). A high schooler builds a metal V5 robot for Override, and the most advanced students move on to VEX AI, where the robot drives itself.
Here's the part most families don't know: the coding software stays the same the entire way. VEXcode uses the same blocks, the same text editor, and the same layout on every platform, so a student never has to relearn the tool. Only the challenge grows.
That's the quiet power of a long-term robotics education: the robot gets more capable as the student does. |
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| Nine Weeks, Four Centers, One Great Summer! |
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That's a wrap on summer camp. From June 8 to August 7, hundreds of campers filled our rooms in Dublin, Fremont, San Jose Stevens Creek, and San Jose Evergreen with robots, wiring, code, and the occasional runaway drivetrain.
Some campers arrived never having touched a robot and left with a machine they built and programmed themselves. Returning students took on bigger builds, trickier autonomous routines, and a head start on the new season. Every week ended the same way: something that moves, something that works, and a camper who can't wait to show you.
Thank you to every family who spent part of their summer with us. To the campers now heading into competition season: we'll see you on the field.
Next up: Thanksgiving Camp, November 23 to 25, three days of full- or half-day robotics at all four centers, for students in 1st through 12th grade. Spots are limited, and the schedule is live now. |
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| | New Program: AI Tools Coaching |
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Every student will use AI. The question is whether they'll use it well.
Our AI Mastery program goes far beyond prompting. Students in grades 8 through 12 learn to create with AI: coding their own projects, building real things, researching deeply, and writing sharper. And they learn to learn with AI, using it to actually understand more instead of letting it do the thinking for them.
Professionals everywhere are racing to build these exact skills for an edge in the workplace. This program gives students that same edge at school, years ahead of everyone else, with the judgment and taste to know when to trust AI and when to push back on it.
Who: Grades 8-12
Format: Live online sessions, one hour per week (Fridays, 7:00-8:00 PM)
Now enrolling the next cohort. Spots are limited, so if your student is curious (or you know one who'd thrive), tap below and we'll reach out. |
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Your Competition Calendar |
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Tournament season is approaching soon with VEX IQ and V5 events scheduled through February. Circle these dates and get ready - every tournament is a chance to qualify for states! |
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| | Hands-on and immersive VEX and FIRST Robotics for kindergarten - 12th grade. |
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| | Fun, and valuable Robotics learning over a break. For students from 1st to 12th grade. |
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| | Journey to become a high-school author and inventor! |
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| | Leverage the entirety of Robolabs to get you into your dream college. |
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| Summer Academy at UC Berkeley |
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| Explore AI and robotics at UC Berkeley with expert mentors. |
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| | Design and code real-world apps from scratch. |
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| | Master SolidWorks & Onshape to design real robotics parts. |
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| | Create, prototype, and build your own product with 3D printing and CNC milling. |
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| | DUBLIN ROBOTICS CLUB, ROBOLABS DUBLIN |
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