Models of a fish trap and submarine created by first grade robotics students at World Academy in Nashua. The students will present their models later this month at the FIRST LEGO League Explore World Championships in Houston. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

NASHUA – World Academy will be the first school in state history to send two elementary school robotics teams to the world championships in Houston and Dallas.

The team of fifth grade students, the VEX Rays, will travel to Dallas for the VEX IQ World Championships, which will be held in May. The team of first grade students, LEGO Force, will be in Houston later this month for the FIRST LEGO League Explore World Championships.

“There’s not a single kid that’s older than 10,” said Daniel Hughes, director of technology and engineering, of his two teams. “We are now the show.”

Hughes said the awesome stage of the championship events is something this group of students has never experienced.

“It’s like a rock concert,” he said. “When they see it their heads are going to explode.”

A VEX robot capable of launching a ball 18 inches into the air developed by fifth grade students at World Academy in Nashua. The students will present their robot at the VEX IQ World Championships next month in Dallas. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

Hughes said the VEX Rays punched their ticket to Dallas by winning the Excellence Award at the VEX IQ State Championships earlier this year. At the World Championships, they will be demonstrating a VEX robot capable of launching a ball up to 18 inches in the air.

The LEGO Force team was created last September when a group of parents asked Hughes to contact FIRST Robotics about creating a team at World Academy. After learning about the depth of the academy’s robotics program, FIRST contacted Hughes to invite him and his team of first grade students to Houston.

For the team project, LEGO Force tackled the current problem of overfishing off New Hampshire’s 18-mile shoreline. To remedy the problem, the team built a model of a fish trap that only keeps fish that are of a certain size. The students also created a model submarine that would deploy buoys marking locations where fishing is not allowed.

Hughes said the project has been particularly meaningful to first grade student Benjamin Demas, whose father is a fisherman.

“My dad doesn’t overfish,” said Benjamin.

World Academy's VEX Ray robotics team, which won this year's VEX IQ State Championships and will be participating in the VEX IQ World Championships next month in Dallas. Courtesy photo/World Academy

However, he said there is currently a shortage of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the quota for bluefin tuna has been exceeded and fishermen are not permitted to catch those fish until June 1.

Hughes said the pride he has for both teams is nearly impossible to describe.

“It’s magic, it’s amazing, it’s unprecedented,” he said. “These kids have zero fear to jump into the unknown.”