First Lego League Robotics

In December, both Cordell and Ryan were able to compete with the Rolla Regional Robotics Teams in the First Lego League in Mountain Home, Arkansas. This involves building and programming a Mind Storm robot, and strategizing missions to gain the most points during two and a half minutes of competition.

The judges also talked to the team members about all aspects of their project and were on the lookout for signs of team work and good sportmanship.

In addition, each team must complete research on how robotics can be used in keeping food safe, this year's theme. Cordell's team, The Green Team, chose cheese to research and gave a 5 minute presentation to the judges giving lots of info about cheese, how it is made, and what steps are taken to prevent contamination from the farm to the table. They were the "Cheese Heads"!

The Cheese Heads scored 3rd in the competition for points, won the "Core Values" award for strong team work, and will advance to the state level competition in Little Rock, Arkansas, in February! Great Job Green Team!

This picture shows the board competition between the robots. Here Cordell is facing his brother, Ryan's team in a head to head trial. Needless to say, it becomes a rather intense few minutes!

Ryan's team, "The Red Team" chose to research eggs for their food safety topic. Here they are preparing for their 5 minute skit for the judges. They came up with the acronym "CLUCK" to protect eggs.

C hill the egg at collection and keep it cold.

L eave egg in shell until ready to use.

U tensils clean and never mix with raw / cooked.

C ook it completely.

K eep it hot until it's eaten

They ended the skit with a very cute song about Salmonella, set to the tune of "Interjections!" It really wowed the judges!

The "Chicken Heads", as they were fondly known, were the First Place tournament Winners with the highest consistent board score, best robot design, and highest marks for their research project. They also advance to Little Rock in February!

WAY TO GO RED TEAM!