BRISTOL, R.I. -- It was a frigid, wintry day outside, but the Campus Recreation Center at Roger Williams University was red hot with fierce competition on Saturday as more than 40 teams of kids from across Rhode Island ferociously competed in the annual FIRST LEGO League Robotics State Championship, sponsored by National Grid. FIRST LEGO League is a hands-on science, technology, engineering and math enrichment program that combines the excitement of robotics with a research project that encourages scientific literacy. The tournament is managed by Rhode Island School of the Future. The teams of students ages nine to 14 spent the morning presenting their robot creations and research projects to judges and the afternoon in a high-energy, sports-like tournament, where their robots navigated a series of obstacles on a game field made of LEGOs. This year’s theme, World Class Challenge, tasked students to develop an innovative solution to help people learn in different ways in the classroom.
Each team was judged on three elements -- robot building, core values and research -- and awards were given in categories such as robot design, robot strategy, research quality and teamwork. The team earning the highest cumulative score across all judging categories wins the Champions Award and may be eligible to participate in in the FIRST LEGO League World Festival held in St. Louis from April 22 to 25, 2015. Each member of the Champions Award team is also awarded a Roger Williams University scholarship -- a four-year scholarship of $5,000 per year for a $20,000 award in total. The Champions Award and RWU scholarship were awarded to Team Mindstorms Mayhem from All Saints STEAM Academy in Middletown. The Bearded Builders from the Lawn School in Jamestown were awarded second place, and the Judges' Award went to the RoboWolves, also from the Lawn School in Jamestown. RWU has hosted the state championship event for nine years. The University recognizes the critical role the program plays in engaging young students in science, technology, engineering and math.
“The future of Rhode Island is in this room,” RWU President Donald J. Farish said during the open ceremonies. Congressman Jim Langevin also offered inspiring words to the group of students participating in the tournament: “You can change the world. Always set your goals high, and do not accept any excuse in the way to achieving your goals.” Rockin’ Robots Coach Susan Unger from St. Peter School in Warwick said that while she has led teams year after year in the FIRST LEGO League tournaments, the program continues to challenge students in learning new skills each year, which proves an invaluable learning opportunity for her teams. “FIRST LEGO League is a great learning experience, and it’s gratifying to be there for the kids when they are engaged in this challenge. Even if they do not pursue a path in robotics as a career, these skills that they learn will serve them well throughout their life.” The full list of award winners is available at: http://www.risf.net/first-lego-league/.
Request Information About the Educator Card Use Your Educator Card Online New & Used TextbooksThis post is sponsored by Warner Bros. Pictures. Are you as excited as we are for the release of The LEGO Batman Movie this weekend? The bat is back! When we’re super looking forward to something we can’t help but get crafty to keep busy, so of course we had to make our own LEGO Batman masks! We are big fans of The LEGO Movie – we love laughing together as a family! We’re thrilled to see LEGO Batman featured in his own movie and can’t wait to see what he gets up to this time! It’s definitely a must to see The LEGO Batman Movie in theaters THIS weekend. Printable mask templates (download template 1 here, template 2 here) Hot glue gun (optional) Cut a piece of black bristol board so that it’s 11” tall and 30” across. Mark the center line with pencil, trace the mouth template 1 3/4” up from the bottom edge, and then cut out. Roll the bristol board into a tube and tape the back shut.
Make sure it fits around the wearer’s head comfortably! Trace the A and B templates onto cardboard and cut out two of each using a craft knife. Fold A along the dotted line, and then tape B to the bottom of A as shown. Trace D template onto extra black bristol board and cut out. Use a bone folder and a ruler to make several vertical lines down the center of the piece to create the gentle curve shown above – this will be the nose. Arrange the two eye panels on the bristol board keeping them as symmetrical as possible. Use hot glue or tape to secure in place directly above the mouth hole. Trace piece C onto cardboard and cut two. Then tape them to the top of the eye panels, forming brows. Temporarily tape the nose between the eye panels – you’ll be removing the nose later. Trim the nose to fit if needed, and then use scissors to cut away the black bristol board under the nose to allow the wearer’s nose to fit comfortably underneath. Cut a snip down the centerline from the top of the bristol board to the brows.
Overlap the two pieces and tape in place to form a sloped forehead. Cut similar snips around the top edge of the back, about 1 1/2” apart, keeping symmetrical as much as possible. For now, just tape the center-back snip closed – we’ll come back to the rest in a minute. On the front, cut two diagonal snips above the eyebrows and tape to form a gentle slope as shown. Next to each of these, cut curved snips (kind of like upside devil horns). Next cut a strip of black bristol board about 1 1/2” and tape one end to the forehead securely. Pull back gently and then tape to the back, forming what looks almost like a handle across the open top of the mask. Cut off the excess strip and put to the side for later. Trace E onto black bristol board and cut out two. Slip one into each of the curved snips and tape in place so that the ears are sitting nice and straight. Next go back to those snips you cut along the back and tape them closed, forming a gentle curve along the whole top of the mask.
Trace F onto more black bristol board and cut out two, using a bone folder and ruler to score and fold along the marked line. Tape to the back of each to add depth. Trace G onto black bristol board and cut two. Tape in place next to the front of the ear as shown. Tape strips of black bristol board over the top of the mask to cover the rest of the open space. To add a bit of width onto the mask, I cut two triangles 9” across the base and 8” tall out of bristol board. Fold each down the center and tape to the sides of the mask. Try the mask on the wearer before doing this step – you might find it isn’t necessary depending on how it fits. Now that the base structure is done (yay!) it’s time to cover the mask! We used black duct tape, but you could use paper mache and paint if you prefer. For the duct tape method, simply apply piece of tape onto the mask. For a super clean look, cut the tape to match the shapes on the mask. For the eyes, cover with tape and then cut snips like eyelashes and fold them inside the mask for a neat edge.