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Solving the Power Puzzle by Joe Meno.
Categorized as Public. Tagged with 20008, atlanta, first, fll and power puzzle.
| Earlier this year and last fall, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition
of Science and Technology) LEGO League (FLL) teams built and programmed
MINDSTORMS robots, performed research and developed presentations to
attempt to solve the FLL team challenge for this year: Power Puzzle. Now is the time of year that many of the FIRST LEGO League teams are preparing for the World Festival in Atlanta, Georgia in April. The majority of the teams going are the winners of regional and national tournaments from around the world, and preparations are being made on two levels – practice and funding. Because the regionals and nationals FLL qualifying events are held at the beginning of the year anytime between late November and early December, there are only four months – or less – for the winners to raise funds to travel to Atlanta. For the international teams, there are also travel and sometimes entry plans that have to be coordinated, as passports and visas are needed. It’s a tough challenge full of hurdles. |
One of the teams from
the United States, the Gothic Lawn Gnomes (Woodinville, Washington),
was recently invited to the World Festival as a FLL Core Values
Ambassador. This team has exemplified the Core Values of FIRST LEGO
League by upholding the following values:
• We are a team.
• We do the work to find the solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
• We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
• What we discover is more than what we win.
• We share our experiences with others.
• We display gracious professionalism in everything we do.
• We have fun.
How did the Gnomes do this? They adopted the only known FLL team in Afghanistan, the Kite Runners. By providing funding and materials for the team, the Gnomes have helped grow a team in a country torn by war and have shown that learning and friendship knows no boundaries.
Because this special invitation was not related to the tournaments, the Gnomes have only a short time to raise funds to not only take their own team to Atlanta, but also the Kite Runners team as well. It’s their goal to finally meet their adopted team, and it’s a tough goal. However, it can be reached if we support them.
BrickJournal has supported FIRST LEGO League in the past with articles about the World Festival, and continues this effort by urging everyone to support the Gothic Lawn Gnomes, the Kite Runners, and FLL.
You can make a donation to the Gothic Lawn Gnomes and the Kite Runners by visiting www.gothiclawngnomes.org or www.firstwa.org.
You can also support FIRST LEGO League by going to http://www.firstlegoleague.org/ and searching for a team that you want to sponsor, or you can start a new team in your area. With your support, these future scientists, architects and engineers can achieve their dreams.
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