This article and video were originally published by KCTV 5. Ravenswood Studio provided fabrication services for this project.

Science City in Union Station will hold a grand opening for its newest exhibit, this one designed by students. In March 2022, the Raytown Challenge Gifted Program won the grand prize in the Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains.

The team, made up of more than 40 students, proposed a robotics-themed exhibit – earning the program $50,000 in grant money and the opportunity to work with STEM professionals at Burns & McDonnell to transform the idea into a $1 million exhibit at Science City at Union Station.

“We got to talk to the people that are going to build our space and see what their plans are,” said student Abbie Gruenewald. “After that, we do a couple of activities and we get to talk to them about what we want, things they can improve on, and stuff like that.”

The students named the exhibit “Riveting Robots” and it’s something they’ll take pride in for years to come.

“They’re actually going to see that their exhibit will have their name on it, and it will be from their school,” Finlay added.

Staff at Science City said the Riveting Robotics space will be unlike any other in Kansas City. The project is made up of eight exhibit pieces: Robothespian, Gripper Display, Mission: Code, I-Sight, Race a Robot, Co-Operation, Build a Bot, and Lace ‘Em Up.

According to Science City representatives, more than half of the 92,000 square foot space has been created from the Battle of the Brains competition. The competition started in 2011 and during the most recent competition cycle in 2021, more than 6,400 students participated.