Portsmouth teams shine at Lego robotics championship

St Philomena, Savage Snowflakes win awards

Posted 1/16/17

BRISTOL — Teams featuring students from Portsmouth fared very well in the First Lego League State Championship held at Roger Williams University Saturday. 

More than 500 elementary …

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Portsmouth teams shine at Lego robotics championship

St Philomena, Savage Snowflakes win awards

Posted

BRISTOL — Teams featuring students from Portsmouth fared very well in the FIRST LEGO League State Championship held at Roger Williams University Saturday. 

More than 500 elementary and middle school students on 40 teams from around Rhode Island competed in the contest, with FIRST LEGO League giving out 10 trophies. This year’s theme was “Animal Allies.”

Two teams from St. Philomena School won awards Saturday. 

Team B.A.R.C.S. received the award for having the best project presentation and was selected to be Rhode Island representative to submit its project idea for the Global Innovation Award. Projects will be submitted from teams from 25 different countries and the top 20 will be chosen to present to the National Patent Office and members of Congress in Washington, D.C. St. Philomena School also received the honor last year, when the award was initiated.

St. Philomena’s other group of students, Team B.R.A.I.N., received an award for the Innovative Solution for its research. The team was also chosen as first alternate for the project presentation award.

A team from Middletown that included four Portsmouth Middle School students also received honors at the contest.

The AIR Strike team, Savage Snowflakes, won for best robot mechanical design. Students from Portsmouth were Cynthia Staroscik, 12, Sonia Staroscik, 9, Nick Perrotti, 14, and Gio Perrotti, 11.

The overall winner of the competition was S.M.A.R.T. 2.0 from St. Mary Academy Bay View in East Providence.

Robotics and research

FIRST LEGO League is a hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) enrichment program that combines the excitement of robotics with a research project that encourages scientific literacy. In Rhode Island, FIRST LEGO League is managed by Rhode Island Students of the Future, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote STEAM engagement through youth robotics.

“Children need opportunities to make things and work through why it works or why it doesn't," said Rebekah Gendron, president of the Rhode Island Students of the Future board of directors. “FIRST LEGO League fosters persistence and problem solving skills, which serve the students well as they move through their education and into careers."

RWU President Donald J. Farish said, “Roger Williams University is dedicated to building the university the world needs now. The world now needs sharp young minds focused on areas such as robotics and engineering, and this FIRST LEGO League event engages students in those areas in a fun and fascinating way. Offering scholarships and support to the Rhode Island FIRST LEGO League provides a renewable investment that benefits our greater community.”

The teams have been meeting since September to build and program an autonomous LEGO EV3 robot that navigates across a playing field and scores points for completing various tasks. The teams also developed an innovative solution after defining research questions relating to the Animal Allies theme, which focused on improving the relationship between animals and humans.

At the action-packed tournament, teams compete in two-and-a-half minute matches to earn as many points as possible on the playing field, which is made entirely of LEGO elements. In morning judging sessions, each team presents their Animal Allies research project and innovative solution to professionals from the community.

Teams, comprised of up to 10 students ages 9-14, vie for awards in categories such as robot design, robot strategy, research quality and teamwork. 

The team earning a strong evaluation across all judging categories and in the robot game wins the coveted Champion’s Award and is eligible to compete in the FIRST World Festival, an event held in April 2017 that brings together teams from 80 countries to celebrate the spirit of friendly competition and collaboration.

FIRST LEGO League, robotics

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