How we did at the 2015 FIRST World Festival!
FIRST LEGO League team #29 - Caught In A Brainstorm competed at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in St. Louis, MO from April 22-25, 2015. The 4 day event was held in the Edward Jones Dome and Convention Center. Over 18,000 participants representing 40 countries competed in 4 different robotics categories.
In FIRST LEGO League, teams are judged in 3 main areas. The first is a research project and presentation centered around this year’s challenge “How can we improve the way ______ learns about ______?’. Second, teams are judged on their robot design and programming, as well as how many points they can consistently score in the robot challenge. Third, teams are evaluated on the FIRST Core values of teamwork, “coopertition”, and gracious professionalism.
Caught In A Brainstorm earned third place for Creative Presentation for their research project, which addresses “How can we improve the way that girls learn positive self image?”. They presented their research into this topic and solution in the form of a slam poem. The first and second place teams were from Brazil and Turkey respectively.
Based on the strength and impact of their presentation, the team was one of three teams selected for individual video recording as an example of effective presentation of information. They were invited by FIRST to present their research project along with five other teams as part of an Encore Ceremony for all 105 teams and spectators on Saturday. The other teams were from Nova Scotia, Brazil, New York, Turkey, and Australia.
During the week, Caught in a Brainstorm met with key corporate sponsors of the event along with a 3-star Air Force General who happened to be a keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies. Lt. General Brooks Bash took the stage with an audience of over 40,000 people and said “I’ve seen many fine Robotics teams here today, but I’d especially like to mention FLL #29 Caught in a Brainstorm”!
Team members are Anna Marie Mitchell, Selina Woo, Lauren Snyder, Mikaela Harkema, and Olivia Stoa, all 8th grade students at Century Middle School in Lakeville, MN. The team is coached by Maureen Carrigan. The team raised over $7,000 in less than three months to fund their trip, equipment, and pit supplies. A special thanks goes out to the sponsors, as well as to supporters that sent encouragement via social media during the event! A very special thank you goes to Mrs. Hillier, 8th grade teacher and Mrs. Simonton, CMS school counselor for encouraging and helping the team to establish their research project solution: Confidence Building Girls Groups that meet once a week during lunch. At the World Championship, coaches from other states and countries spoke to the team about how to implement the groups in their own school districts.
The team had an incredible, unforgettable experience and represented Century Middle School and Lakeville, MN well!