The Hawaii Space Grant Consortium has been supporting the initiation and growth of scholastic robotics in Hawaii for the past 20 years; programs initiated and supported include FIRST robotics, Botball, and VEX Robotics. Currently, the state oversight and coordination of VEX robotics includes HSGC education specialists who propose and receive community grants, provide liaison with schools, oversee tournaments, etc. which now include over 35 per cent of the eligible schools, 30 tournaments including state championships, and expansion (state ranking: Hawaii number 6 in 2017-2018 in the United States).