SANFORD, Nov 16, 2008 (Sanford Herald – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) –
East Lee Middle School students Haley Kane and Aaron Stanley bent over in concentration Saturday morning, trying to guide their LEGO robot past miniature boulders and other roadside obstacles.
They huddled together whispering and strategizing how to build a levee and save a stranded polar bear as their teammates anxiously cheered them on.
Kane and Stanley were part of team Robosquad, one of three teams battling to be overall champion Saturday in the second annual LEGO Robotics Competition, sponsored by Communities in Schools of Lee County.
“I thought it would be fun,” sixth-grader Kane said after competing. “I like LEGOs and I’ve always been interested in robots.”
Although Robosquad took home the prize for best project presentation, it was the Ninjaneers of West Lee Middle School that earned district bragging rights and the competition’s championship.
Pam Summers, coach of the winning Ninjaneers, said her five-member squad started meeting twice a week for about three hours earlier this fall and then bumped that up to about six hours during the past two weeks.
She said her students have learned about team work and problem solving by participating in the competition.
“If it doesn’t work, they have to figure out why it doesn’t work,” Summers said.
The Ninjaneers also won an award for best robot performance, while West Lee’s other squad, Team Swofford, won best robot design.
The two West Lee teams will compete in the state competition in Greensboro on Dec. 6, and the East Lee team will compete in a rookie challenge in Greensboro in January.
“I think the biggest thing is they are in there innovating on the spot and having fun doing it,” said Gladys Hill, an East Lee Middle School teacher and coach of team Robosquad.
The event was held in the Central Carolina Community College’s fitness center, and the teams were sponsored by Central Electric Membership Corp. and Wyeth.
In addition to being judged on robot performance and design, the teams also gave presentations about the effects of climate change on the area, zoning in on topics such as the recent state drought, sea-level change and an increase in insects.
Johnny Dills, a Progress Energy employee at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant who helped judge robot design, said judges look to make sure the students did their own work without adult help and examine the complexity and ingenuity of the design.
“The biggest thing is it has to function,” Dills said. “Some people make them very complex, but it doesn’t work.”
Eighth-graders Gabe Matarese and Ross Peele of Team Swofford said participating in the challenge taught them a lot about programming and building a robot.
“I’ve played with LEGOs ever since I was a kid, and I participated last year and wanted to defend our championship,” Peele said.
Jon Barnhart, a science teacher and robotics club adviser at East Lee Middle School, said the competition also teaches the students life lessons.
“If they noticed a flaw, they can fix it,” Barnhartsaid. “That’s how real life is. You make an error and hopefully you learn from it.”
