Tech Ten: First Lego League
What’s This All About?!
Catch
the excitement! Tech Ten is Timberline’s robotics team, part of a worldwide
organization of 4th-8th graders, called FIRST (For
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League. Teams build
and program a robot to respond to specific challenges on a table-top,
specially-built obstacle course. Teams also research a current scientific topic
(last year: food contamination; 2012: helping senior citizens live fuller
lives), develop an innovative idea for an invention that would help solve a
problem within that topic, and then present their work to various audiences.
Underlying all of the science and
technology goals are FIRST’s Core Values, which place the emphasis on teamwork
and problem-solving in real-world contexts. Key principles of these Core Values
are “coopertition” (committed, but friendly, competition) and “Gracious
Professionalism” (sharing your skills and knowledge to make your community a
better place).
To learn more about how technology,
science, math, and engineering blend in a fun, competitive environment, please
visit www.usfirst.org and follow the tabs
at the top of the page to “FLL” (First Lego League). You can also watch a
myriad of videos on sites, like “YouTube”, that will show robots in action from
teams around the world. Our own Tech Ten team has posted a video of its 2011
robot and research presentation, which you can find at
Details About Timberline’s Team
Applications
for the 2012 Timberline FIRST Lego League team will be accepted in March. We
invite all interested students who will be 4th or 5th
graders during the 2012-13 school year to apply.
By
FIRST’s regulations, a team has a maximum of ten students. Currently, Timberline
has one team. If additional teachers or parents are intererested in coaching,
then more teams may be formed.
Team
meetings generally take place for two hours after school. In April and May,
there will be one meeting per week. When school resumes in August, there will
be two meetings per week, plus a couple of required weekend dates for training
workshops and tournaments. Throughout the season, the team has optional
get-togethers for field trips, Gracious Professionalism visits (like when the
team brought our robots to share with the kids at Children’s Hospital and an
assisted living facility for the elderly), constructing the obstacles for the
competition table, and other occasions for building teamwork.
For
questions or more information, please contact volunteer parent coaches Mat and
Katherine Aschenberg at matandkatherine@yahoo.com
or 303-400-7053.
Upcoming Tournament Competitions
All
tournaments at all levels of FIRST are free family fun! They are
the best way to experience the fun and excitement and see the science and
technology and Core Values in action.
Although
the FIRST Lego League (4th-8th graders) competitions are
wrapped up for 2011, the FIRST Robotics Competition (high schoolers) is just
ramping up for the spring 2012 season. Eaglecrest High School is one of many
high schools in the Denver Metro area that participates. You can find out when
and where the qualifying tournaments will be at www.usfirst.org; follow the tabs for “find
tournaments in my area.”
One
of the most exciting tournament venues is the Colorado State Championship
Tournament for the high schoolers, which will be held at Denver University’s
Ritchie Center (Magness Arena) on Saturday, March 24th, from
approximately 1-4 pm. Tech Ten will be there to cheer on the teams, and we’d
love to see you there, too!
Questions? Need More Information?
For
questions or more information, please contact volunteer parent coaches Mat and
Katherine Aschenberg at matandkatherine@yahoo.com
or 303-400-7053.