The first thing the state champion robotics team wants you to know is that robotics isn’t only about robots. Of course, math and science are important, but social skills are crucial.

“You have to be able to explain how you designed the robot and describe the different missions,” fifth-grader Allie Quan said.

When the Ma‘ema‘e Elementary School team represents Hawaii in the FIRST Lego League World Championships in April, the competition rounds will be high-pressure, but the more difficult challenge may be standing at their booth on the huge convention floor for hours at a time over three days answering questions and carrying on conversations with anyone who comes by.

There will be teams from all over the world, and the Hawaii students will have to explain themselves over and over while being engaging and sincere. They will take the robots they have built (carefully, on the plane, possibly in their laps) and have three rounds “at the table” (the robotics equivalent to “in the ring”) to complete a mission that involves things like scooping up a ball, clearing away blocks or carrying a plastic piece from one part of the mission field to a final target. The rounds are timed, and the performance can be intense, with wins celebrated like Olympic gold and losses felt like crushing tumbles down a ski slope.

December was the second time Nuuanu’s Ma‘ema‘e Elementary has won the biennial state championships. Two years ago teachers Christine Kotomori and Suzanne Brauer took a group of students to the FIRST Lego League World Championships.

“There are teams from all over the world. To see how different teams do things, it’s amazing,” Kotomori said. “Everybody has the same materials, but with more experience, teams can build different things.”

Kotomori teaches computers to students from kindergarten through fifth grade, seven classes a day. “When one group is leaving the classroom from one door, the next group is coming in the other door,” she said.

The schedule is similar for Brauer, who teaches STEM classes.

Then, after school, the two run a club they call Robotics Academy. The competitive team — they named themselves the Dolphinators in honor of the school’s mascot — is selected from among students who try out for a slot.

“Some of the team members have no prior experience,” Kotomori said. “In the club we try to teach them the really basic things. A lot of robotics is trial and error. It’s perseverance. To do this you need to be OK with failure.”

“We’re looking for a team that can get along with each other, students who are able to cooperate. That’s the main thing,” Brauer said. “Being smart isn’t enough. They have to be able to work with other people.”

This year’s team comprises fourth-graders Haylie Kaichi and Trevor Okinaka, and fifth-graders Hina Lau, Caelin Balansag, Ryan Nguyen, Lauryn Trader and Allie Quan.

“We weren’t a group of friends who would hang out every recess,” Haylie said.

“The hardest challenge we faced was just getting to know each other at first,” Lauryn said.

In addition to building the robots, the students also had to invent, research and build a contraption that would provide a solution to the world’s problems with trash. Then, to present their trash solution, they had to write and rehearse an elaborate speech. (Theirs even has a catchy jingle.) On top of all that, the students are holding fundraisers to help pay for their trip.

All of this stuff is after school and does not count for grades or school credit. Working on their champion robot is not an excuse for leaving homework incomplete.

“We’ve got to finish homework or we get in deep trouble,” Lauryn said. “We stay up until 10 or 11 if we have to.”

The official description of the FIRST Robotics Competition calls it the “ultimate sport for the mind … combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology.”

Allie sees it differently. “If you were in a sport, you would try to win. In robotics you try to win but try to make sure everyone is happy and doing OK. If another team needed a piece to make their bot work, we would give them the piece to help out,” she said and then added, “That’s called ‘gracious professionalism,’ by the way.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.