I couldn’t make it to MetroTech Center on Saturday to witness the FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifier. But friends of TvB were there to let us know what happened. In case you haven’t considered Lego building blocks in a good long time, they’ve since been mechanized with gears and servo-motors, computerized with micro-controllers, and sensorized with motion, touch, and vision detectors.
In other words, a technically-inclined kid could build him- or herself a robot from a Lego kit.
That is exactly what over 40 400 NYC students have done. This past weekend they brought their creations to NYU-Poly’s campus to compete against other in Robot Design and Robot Performance categories, as well as a special Project area that covered research, innovation, and presentation skills.
Congrats and three beeps to PS #399’s Gear Hawks for winning the “Champion’s Award” which recognizes a team that fully embraces FIRST Core Values “while achieving excellence and innovation” in the Robot Game and Project. And congrats to all the other winners as well.
I thought someone should have been given an award for the most creative robotic team name. My favorite? “Leggo My Eggo”, which won 2nd place in “Strategy and Innovation”.
By the way, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Learning Science and Technology) is Dean “Segway” Kamen’s not-for-profit organization for promoting STEM learning in American schools.
Photo credit:Elena Olivo