The Namaste Elementary First Lego League Robotics Team, The Tech Animals, won first place in a FLL qualifying tournament. They competed in with 22 other teams from the area. The event took place in Auburn, NY on Saturday January 20, 2024. Tech Animals will move on to compete in the Fingerlakes Regional Tournament in Buffalo on February 10, 2024.
From the FLL Website: FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Level introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 9-16 through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem solving experience through a guided, global robotics program. This program helps today’s students and teachers build a better future together. The challenge inspires youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills. The learn through hands-on STEM learning and robotics.
For the tournament, the team was evaluated in four areas of performance. The performance areas were: Innovation Project, Robot Design, Mission Coding and Execution, and Core Values. As a first place winner the Tech Animals demonstrated excellence in all four of these areas.
Theme and Research Related to Robotics
This Season’s FLL Theme was “Masterpiece”. Participants learned about how technology is used in the arts. The Innovation Project Challenge was to take a hobby or passion your team cares about and share it with others using technology. The Tech Animals shared their passion for helping animals in need. They researched how kids their age can make an impact for neglected animals. They brainstormed a wide range of ways to help. Some options included organizing supply drives for local animal shelters and park clean up days. They created a plan to make short engaging videos they could share through social media to inspire others to join. Their project required learning how to use an equipment. The students used HD video camera, sound recording devices, lighting for video production, and using video editing software.
They designed and coded an autonomous robot using the Lego Spike Prime Brick and App to complete missions on the competition field. The team had 2 and a half minutes to complete as many missions as possible. They scored points for the successful completion of each mission. In an interview session with judges they explained their robot design process, coding scripts, and overall strategy.
Throughout the entire season the team embodied the Core Values of the FLL: Discovery, Innovation, Inclusion, Teamwork, Impact, and Fun.