Lego Robotics

Never heard of it, right? Me neither! Until Anthony went to middle school and it was one of the classes offered as an elective. Huh? They're gonna grade you on playing with Legos?

What I found out is that Lego Robotics is kind of like a pre-engineering class. They make bots out of Legos that are powered by engines. The engines have to be programed to make the bots perform certain tasks without the help of its creator. Once you turn it on and press the button, it has to be completely autonomic and function completely on its own. Pretty cool stuff.

Anthony is a part of a team that competes with other schools in Lego Robotic Competitions. All of the kids on Anthony's team are first timers. There were different parts of the competition.


One part was on a table where their bot had to perform the different tasks against another team. Each task performed correctly earns points and if you do it faster than the other team, you earn bonus points. Highest number of points, obviously wins.

Other parts were tests in design of your bot, a speech including a power point presentation and a teamwork competition where each team was given the same task and they judged how well the team worked together.

Well, the table competition wasn't going so well. It looked more like a demolition derby than anything else. But they do get three rounds and did improve with each round so that was good. Their presentation went well but what they really excelled at was the teamwork competition. They communicated well and built their bridge quickly and efficiently. They only have 5 minutes to complete the task and it's not really how well the bridge is built but how well they participate together.

Awards time came around and my newbie team didn't really expect to win anything. Reminded me of the Olympics where the new skater comes in and all the judges are talking about how much potential she has for the NEXT Olympics.


We were happily surprised when we won the Teamwork Award. :) Great job, you guys!!!

See ya next time! :o)