| 2007 Washington County LEGO Robotics EXPO The Washington County LEGO Robotics EXPO has been established so that after school groups and clubs from around the Washington County area can team up to learn new skills, complete goals, and in general have fun while building with LEGOs. The EXPO is funded by the Perloff Foundation, the Washington County 4H Program, The Maine Community Foundation, and the EdGE program. Maine Robotics is working with the 4H program in coordinating and putting on the EXPO. The 2007 EXPO was held at the Elm Street school in East Machias on March 31st. Thanks to the Elm Street School and Doug Mugford for his help. This years winners were: Best Overall Project: Jonesboro Robotics Teamwork & Team Spirit: Edgebots Best Non-robotic entry: Rose M. Gaffney Robotics Best Robot: Charlotee Robotics (Bob the Robot) Congratulations one and all! We had over 100 people on the day of the EXPO and there is already talk of a 2008 EXPO! How is the EXPO Different? The EXPO is designed to provide a fairly open-ended opportunity to let the teams show-what-they- know! Think of the morning portion of the event as a "science fair" where you bring your design and then have the chance to demonstrate your project to the judges. Teams can enter with Robots made from either the RCX or NXT LEGO kits as well as enter non-robotic LEGO projects. If it's not a competition, then why are there judges? Many of the schools that will participate in the EXPO have never participated in a competitive event such as the FIRST LEGO League. During this event, youth will gain experience with judges who will provide helpful tips and feedback without the pressure of competition. Teams will build/create their projects during the next few weeks, bringing their finished project on the day of the event. There will be no "timed competitions" at the event. Awards will be given in the following areas: Top-Notch Robot Design:
Teams should be ready to explain what they did, how they did it, and why they did it. Examples might include: A trash collecting robot truck that can empty a LEGO dumpster; a working elevator in a LEGO building; a LEGO sorting machine;
experience. Teams should be ready to explain what they did, how they did it, and why they did it. Examples might include: A model of a real bridge; a gantry crane; demonstrations of gear- trains; etc.
enthusiasm for what they have done. Are all team members involved? Are there words of encouragement shared amongst teammates? How will you demonstrate your team spirit? Get creative! Team projects must be of original design. Teams may not build LEGO models out of the box or directly from building directions and call it "their own". Each team needs to "own" the project and that means building it themselves. Competition Day: 9:00 Doors open for setup 9:30 Kick-off Ceremony 9:45 Judging begins 11:00 FIRST LEGO League demonstration by the Belfast LEGO Lions 11:30 Lunch (open so grab as you can) 12:00 EdGE will be running teamwork activities for the team members Coaches meeting with Tom Bickford, Director of Maine Robotics 1:00 Robot Skill-a-thon will be setup for team members to try their skills or learn new ones as they go around the different stations for short 8-10 minute segments. 2:00 Closing Ceremonies 2:30 Safe travel home! To find out if you can register or to register please contact: Jen Lobley 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator Hancock and Washington Counties 34 Center Street Machias, ME 04654 207-255-3345 1-800-287-1542 (in ME) 207-255-6118 (fax) jlobley@umext.maine.edu For more information about the technical aspects of the EXPO please contact: Tom Bickford Director of Maine Robotics 167 Bennoch Road Orono, ME 04473 866-4340 bickford@mainerobotics.org |
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| Maine Robotics |