Sizzling circuits! Did you hear that the Oxford Elementary Rockin? Robots are headed to the state finals Dec. 12 at Carman-Ainsworth Middle School in Flint?
‘They’re really excited about this,? said Barbara Johnston, the team’s adviser and a fourth-grade teacher at OES. ‘I told them if we make top five, I’ll be happy.?
The competitive robotics team, which consists of students in grades 4-7, came in eighth out of 26 teams at the Nov. 21 qualifying tournament held at Delta College in Saginaw.
‘The top nine go on,? Johnston explained.
The competition is part of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL), a global program created for kids ages 9-14 to get them excited about science and technology.
This is only the Rockin? Robots second year of competition. Last year, the team placed 18th in the qualifying tournament, but did win a trophy for ‘Creative Project Presentation.?
Johnston was ‘really surprised? by the team’s performance. She attributed the high finish to the students? dedication.
‘These kids have been coming everyday, Monday through Thursday, at least four hours a week since the end of September,? she said. ‘It’s a lot of commitment on their part and their parents? part to stick with this.?
In preparation for the state finals, the team increased its practice sessions to two hours a day. ‘It’s just tweaking what we have,? Johnston said.
The competition consists of four parts ? project presentation, robot performance, teamwork exercise and technical briefing.
For the project portion, the Rockin? Robots had to research and come up with a smart way to transport people and things. They wanted the end result to be efficient and earth-friendly.
‘Their idea was to come up with a fusion-powered, all-terrain transport vehicle. It would be like a hovercraft ? something that could go on land, sea and air,? Johnston said. ‘The fusion power was the part they did a lot of research on because that’s something scientists have been working on for a really long time now.?
‘They looked at fission, but they realized there would be nuclear waste. Fusion would be the most clean and efficient,? she noted.
The students really went all out in their research. They even consulted with, via e-mail, Alberto Rojo, an associate professor of physics at Oakland University.
Students are not restrained by financial or technological limits when creating their project idea.
‘They tell us imagination is the only limit,? Johnston said.
In the robot performance portion of the competition, the OES team did exceptionally well. It placed 5th out of 26 teams and scored 240 out of a possible 400 points.
If the Rockin? Robots do well at the state finals, they could be eligible to attend the World Festival in April 2010 where 84 FLL teams from the U.S. and around the world will compete.
The team could also find itself headed for the Ohio and European Invitationals if it is among the top teams at the Flint competition.
Good luck, Rockin? Robots! All of Oxford will be rooting for you.
‘The fusion power was the part they did a lot of research on because that’s something scientists have been working on for a really long time now.?
‘They looked at fission, but they realized there would be nuclear waste. Fusion would be the most clean and efficient,? she noted.
The students really went all out in their research. They even consulted with, via e-mail, Alberto Rojo, an associate professor of physics at Oakland University.
Students are not restrained by financial or technological limits when creating their project.
‘They tell us imagination is the only limit,? Johnston said.
In the robot performance portion of the competition, the OES did exceptionally well. It placed 5th out of 26 teams and scored 240 out of a possible 400 points.