Building interest in engineering
VALDERS – Lego bricks spilled out across multiple tables in the cafeteria of the Valders High School as elementary-aged students began building toward a potential interest in engineering.
The kids gathered Sept. 6 for the season kick-off of FIRST Lego League, an international program designed to engage students in science, technology, engineering and math related activities by challenging them to design robots using Lego bricks.
This year the FIRST Lego League attracted 85 participants from across the county who are separated into teams of six to 10 before the robot building begins. Worldwide this year, the program will have approximately 22,840 teams made up of roughly 160,000 students.
"It sounded really cool and fun. I was partially influenced by my dad, because he likes doing things like engineering," 11-year-old Sam DeWane said.
Each team builds a Lego robot to solve a set of challenges laid out on a 8-by-4 game board. This year there are 12 challenges on the game board for robots to complete.
"You build a robot to do the different challenges on the board and score points for the different challenges," Sam explained. "One of the challenges was like weight lifting. You had to lift a bar with your robot to get points. They can be as simple as that, or they can get rather complicated."
Sam, a seventh-grader this year, said he has been in the program since fifth-grade. Last year his team, The StemPunk Minions, developed several robot prototypes early in the season before deciding on a final design to use in competitions.
The 12 challenges on the board are worth different point values during competitions based on their difficulty. Robots do not have to complete every challenge, but have 2.5 minutes during competitions to complete as many as they can.
"Not every student is going to be able to do every obstacle," Arrow Guetschow, a mentor in the Lego program, said. "What I like to do with my teams is sit down at one of the first meetings and (choose obstacles). Everyone has one that they work on."
The program also includes a research and presentation component based on an international theme, which is "FLL World Class" this year. Using the theme, student teams from more than 70 countries will research and present creative ideas they believe will improve the learning experience.
The students will put their robots to the test during two separate competitions on Nov. 15 and 16 at Lakeshore Technical College.
Sparking interest in math, engineering
The First Lego League is meant to spark early interest in science, technology, engineering and math and gives students experience with the hope that they continue to the middle school and high school levels of the program.
Last year was the inaugural season for Manitowoc County's two middle school teams, one which meets in Mishicot and one in Valders.
The FIRST Tech Challenge, aimed for students in grades seven through nine, increases the difficulty of the robotics challenges. The students use "Tetrix," an erector-set style building system, to create robots that feature more powerful motors, sensors, and an advanced programming language.
Approximately 18 students registered for the FIRST Tech Challenge in Manitowoc County this year.
The middle school program dovetails into the high school program, the FIRST Robotics Competition. Guetschow initially formed one team in Valders in 2009, which, due to popular demand, was split into two teams, the second which meets in Mishicot. This year approximately 70 kids are participating between the two teams.
"We started one team, and it just keeps spreading," Guetschow said.
At the high school level, students are free to create robots from any materials or off-the-shelf parts they want, provided the robot meets the program's size and weight constraints.
High school teams see success
The early years of the high school program has been immensely successful, both in student interest and in robot performance. Both teams have competed at the international competition — with the Mishicot team competing on the world stage the last two years in a row.
"In the last five years, we've gone to the national championship three times," Guetschow said. "We have been phenomenally successful."
The Valders Team, Droid Rage 3381, received the Rookie-All-Star award at the Wisconsin regional competition 2010, earning them a chance to participate in the world championship. The Mishicot team, STEMpunk 4531, won the same award in 2013, earning them their first trip to the world championship.
Last season, STEMpunk won the 2014 Engineering Inspiration Award at the Lake Superior Regional in Minnesota, which allowed them a chance to compete at the world competition. The award honors teams who use complex engineering and math in their design.
Redesigning the catapult
The design challenge last year required students to build a robot that, in part, could toss a ball into a hole in the wall of the competition floor. The STEMpunk team built a catapult.
A member of the team, Gabe LaFond, developed complex mathematical formulas to find the optimal throwing angle and ball velocity to maximize the robot's chances of success regardless of where it was situated on the competition floor.
"It took me way longer than I should have," LaFond said. "I never took a physics class, so I was a little out of practice."
Another student developed a complex drive mechanism that allowed the robot a wide range of movement, which contributed to the team's award achievement.
Last April, the team traveled to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis for the 2014 FIRST World Championship.
"Imagine walking through a door, and having the whole world blow up in your face," LaFond said of the experience. "You go from Manitowoc County, and everything seems normal, and I had never been to a big city before, and the sheer number of people…it's like packing an entire Manitowoc County city into a building."
The robot had five wins and five losses during the competition.
LaFond said the team lost a few good members due to graduation last year, but he still expects the team to perform well this year. The programs are offset, with the elementary school and middle school programs beginning in the fall and the high school program starting in winter.
Although the teams meet in Valders or Mishicot, kids from anywhere in the county can join the program.
The Lego and tech challenge teams are already underway, but students interest in the high school program can sign up by contacting Guetschow at email@example.com. All three programs are run by volunteer mentors, which Guetschow notes is integral to the program's success. Interested parents can contact him at the email above.
LaFond said he is excited for year ahead and encouraged interested students to join.
"If you've ever played with Tinker Toys as a kid or put a nail in a wall ... you don't even have to know how to do that really," LaFond said. "The first two weeks of robots you will learn something new every two minutes."
Phillip Bock: (920) 686-2966 or firstname.lastname@example.org