The Green Machine engages in many community outreach events throughout the year, but as the pre-season winds down, there is one event that brings tremendous satisfaction and celebration. At the FIRST LEGO League and FIRST LEGO League Junior tournaments in Edina in December, The Green Machine was delighted to be present to coach, mentor, and volunteer at the two days of the event. More than 500 students and their families came to Valley View Middle School to participate and cheer. Some even advanced to the sectional competitions on their way to the State Championship February 25 in St. Paul.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is a branch of FIRST that focuses on inspiring students in grades 4 – 8 to get interested in hands-on STEM. This involvement at early ages helps them connect with others who are pursuing similar interests in STEM-related activities.
At the December events, The Green Machine volunteered as an “all-team, all call” to help keep the event running smoothly. Each day’s event hosted 32 FLL teams competing in this year’s Animal Allies game. Team members and parents volunteered alongside members of Valley View’s FIRST Tech Challenge teams from set-up on Friday evening through load-out on Sunday evening. Team 1816 members worked as information specialists, match timers, referees, DJs, data entry assistants, judging room check-in assistants, and more. The event attracted more than the 500 students, coaches, mentors, and families already involved with FLL. The event also attracted visitors, including local Cub Scout troops. They were there to check out the event as part of their work to earn Nova STEM badges which place emphasis on a scout’s understanding of STEM.
FLL Junior, one of the four FIRST programs, encompasses ages 6 – 10 and focuses on getting these young participants ready to compete in FLL. This year, 12 Jr. FLL teams came to an Expo on Saturday, December 10th, to show off their models from the year’s Creature Craze Challenge. In addition, the team members talked about their research and other activities with Event Reviewers. Team 1816 mentored two of the teams that participated; The LEGO Engineers (for a second year) and The Robocats, a rookie team from Creek Valley Elementary. All four levels of FIRST were well-represented throughout this weekend.