Mentoring FIRST Lego League

By Amy Z., February 23, 2010
Outreach
The Green Machine once again devoted considerable hours with elementary and middle school students, working as mentors to the growing number of teams interested in FIRST robotics.

The Green Machine once again devoted considerable hours with elementary and middle school students, working as mentors to the growing number of teams interested in FIRST robotics. In addition to assisting the FIRST Tech Competition teams, members also spent time with three FIRST Lego League teams: The Golden Robots (teams 1 and 2), Cornelia Elementary School, and The NXT Generation (from The Works Museum).

Last year, The Green Machine visited Cornelia to help at their science fair. Seeing the many eager young faces of potential scientists, we decided to pitch the idea of starting a FIRST Lego League team at Cornelia. With the support of the principal and volunteerism of an amazing parent coach, the Cornelia team took off with 21 kids, kindergarten to 5th grade, and three mentors from Team 1816.

The kids spent eight weeks putting together their research project on transportation problems, as well as designing, building, and programming their robot.

Due to the sheer number of students interested, the Cornelia students had to be split into two separate teams. Nevertheless, they were still one team at heart, as they both competed under the same name. The kids spent eight weeks putting together their research project on transportation problems, as well as designing, building, and programming their robot. While they did not advance to state, it’s a safe bet the Golden Robots will be back for more competition next season.

This is the third year for our team’s mentoring of The NXT Generation.

This is the third year for our team’s mentoring of The NXT Generation. Growing from three to up to nine members, the team consists of a mix of both veterans and rookies. As part of the “Smart Move” challenge this year, these 4th to 6th grade boys built a robot capable of maneuvering smartly around the course, and also researched how to improve car safety. At their regional tournament, they placed 2nd overall and were given the privilege of advancing onto the state competition. There, the team scored two perfect scores (400 points) in their head-to-head competition and also received the quality design award.

It was a very rewarding season for all three teams and their coaches and mentors. We hope next year will be even better!