Today's our regional qualifier for the robotics
competition with First Lego League.
They're being judged on their FLL Core Values,
they're being judged on their robot design,
and they're being judged on their research
project.
Our hand does sign language.
A, B and C
My favorite thing is being surprised. One
day I turn my head around and there's this
robotic hand signing at me and so, getting
surprised because you let the kids, you trust
the kids to do their own stuff, nothing beats
that.
I like programming robots and it's become
part of me.
I like hanging out with friends, I like programming
the robot, watching it fail sometimes ... it's all fun.
Everybody's helping each other out.
It's about programming and designing but more
than that it's about really the core values
of kids working together on a team.
Competing against other schools, it's fun
to meet new people and new friends.
I like the challenges it's really like a brain
teaser.
We put a claw on it to do all the missions.
We're doing this door, where our claw will
be up, but when it goes down it will push
the door open, and we have two programs for
that.
All their hard work, their successes and failures
all come together and this is it.
It's fun!
Robotics combines both the physical and the
computer aspects of engineering.
It's multiplication, math, all kinds of stuff.
So you're both programming and building the
robot. So that's very valuable.
Robotics is STEM. It's the best vehicle for
getting science, technology, engineering and
math all intertwined.You're doing the natural
world, you're doing the engineering, you're
programming the computers, you're using math
to calculate distances and sensor use and
stuff, so it just ties really nicely in.
Our first year we had a kiddo who hated school.
He was in my class! He joined our robotics
club at the end of the year. He said, "THIS
is what I want to do. Now I want to go to
college. And that's a huge breakthrough for
some of these kids who don't get that opportunity
anywhere else in school.
I like the computer aspect, I'm looking into
going into computer engineering and that kind
of thing, programming, software development.
This is a celebration of all the work the
kids have done, all the work that they're doing.
And plus they've come together as a team.
Team shirts are a great way, but we also went
with wigs this time, so all of my kids have
colorful mohawk wigs and mullets and all sorts
of crazy stuff and I went with the beard and
the ... I don't know I'm either Duck Dynasty
or Santa Claus or somewhere in between, Aristotle
maybe, we're not sure.
FLL's a great program, I'm glad that Bethel School
District has been supporting it for this many
years and I just hope it continues.
