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Students and hobbyists faced off in “Discovery Destruction,” a combat robotics tournament hosted by Tulsa Community Combat Robotics and Combat Robots of Oklahoma. Among the competitors was father-daughter duo, recent 91Ӱ�� graduate Kody Fimple and his 6-year-old daughter, Masyn.

Sparks flew at the Discovery Lab in midtown Tulsa as student- and hobbyist-built combat robots went head-to-head at “Discovery Destruction,” a tournament hosted by Tulsa Community Combat Robotics and .

The June event drew a large crowd of students, robot enthusiasts, and families, demonstrating the growing interest in the STEM-related competition. A total of 16 teams entered the competition, fielding 17 antweight (1 lb) and 16 plastic (3D printed) antweight class combat robots.

At the end of the day, Phosphor Robotics took home the plastic antweight championship title with their robot "Kingpin," but it was a father-daughter duo who captured the hearts of the crowd.

Recent 91Ӱ�� graduate Kody Fimple, who earned Electronic Engineering Technology and Liberal Arts degrees in May, competed alongside his 6-year-old daughter, Masyn, in their first combat robotics tournament together.

“I've been competing for almost two years,” says Kody. “I’ll design the bots without weapons, put them together and let my daughters drive them around in our garage. They got really good at driving them, so we made a track on our driveway for them to use.”

Now serving as an avionics technician in the Air Force, Kody returned from military training in Texas the day before the tournament to compete with Masyn. Her pink and purple robot, named “Dust Reaper” advanced to the final four, knocking her dad out of their tournament in the process.

Masyn says her favorite part about her robot is its weapon.

“The weapon can spin and whenever it hits the robot it makes it flip over. It also scratches the other robot and can make it blow up,” she says.

Kody first introduced Masyn to robotics by bringing her to 91Ӱ��R club meetings at the Northeast Campus Fab Lab while he was still a student. While he taught other club members how to solder, Masyn would battle other members, including the club’s president, 91Ӱ�� student Draton Zollars.

“She held her own from the beginning,” recalls Zollars. “Combat robotics is one of those activities where age doesn’t matter. Skills, curiosity, and creativity are what count. Masyn’s a great example of what happens when kids are given the tools, space, and encouragement to learn.”

91Ӱ�� Fab Lab Manager, and 91Ӱ�� advisor, Cody Zimmer says holding the tournament at the Discovery Lab was an opportunity to spark curiosity and engage the broader community in STEM.

“Our 91Ӱ��R members were able to share their passion for robotics with families, kids, and fellow competitors. Events like this show how accessible and exciting engineering and engineering technology can be,” says Zimmer.

The Fimples were one of several families wowed by the battle bots at the Discovery Destruction tournament. Children in the audience crowded around the plexiglass arena to watch the action up close.

“It gets kids going with STEM,” says Kody. “By the time Masyn is a teenager, she’ll have a solid understanding of electronics and networking. She told me the other day she wants to be an engineer.”

Although Masyn was knocked out in the final four round, Kody says this won’t be her last time competing.

“We will be back here in the fall, and I'll get my rematch with her,” he says.