FIRST ® LEGO® LeagueFIRST LEGO League team, The Hippie Pandas, use LEGO MINDSTORMS® Education to learn about robotics!

The Need Lookingforanafter-schoolprogramthatnotonlyhelps

youngpeoplediscoverthefuninscienceandtechnologybut

alsobuildsself-confidence,knowledge,andvaluablelifeskills?

FIRST®LEGO®League(FLL®)providesstudentsages9-14just

thatopportunity.Take,forexample,theHippiePandas–Ashley,

Carolyn,Jodie,andEmily–aFIRSTLEGOLeagueteamthatjust

wontheirfirst-everbidtotheFIRSTWorldFestival,aculminating

celebrationoftheFLLseason.Thisteamoffourgirls,ranging

inagefrom11-14,lovestocompeteintheFLLcompetitions

because,asAshleysays,“Welovetheenergyandhavingfun

cheeringanddancingandlearningaboutotherteams’projects.”

Notonlyaretheyhavingfun,theyarelearningabouteverything

fromroboticstothisyear’schallengetheme,whichisallabout

foodsafety.

The Solution InFLL,teamsusetheLEGOEducationMINDSTORMS®

roboticssystemtodesignarobotthatcansolvechallenges

andcompletemissionsonaLEGO-basedplayingfield.Thegirls

startbybrainstormingideasonhowtodomissiontasks.They

thendeveloprobotprototypesandattachmentstotesttheir

theories.There’salsoabitofoverallstrategythatcomesinto

playasthegirlsconsiderwhichmissionscanbecombinedfor

additionalpoints.Sometimes,itcomesdowntolocation,while

atothertimes,theabilitytoutilizethesameattachmentisthe

majorfactor.Duringthisprocess,someofthegirlsdiscover

theirtalentsareinprogramming,andothersenjoyattachment

creationorideageneration.Nomatterwhattheirstrengthsare,

theyarealllearningtoworktogether,build,program,andsolve

problemscreatively,allimportanttwenty-first-centuryskills.Cheryl

Lawniczak,thecoachoftheHippiePandas,said,“Ilovetosee

thegirlstryprogrammingorbuildinganattachmentandtosee

theirprideandexcitementwhentheysucceed!”

The Results TheHippiePandasusedtheirroboticsknowledgeto

participateinthe2011-2012FLLFoodFactorChallenge,where

theywereinstructedtoinvestigatetheirfoodandfindaway

toimproveitssafedelivery.Aspartofthisproject,theHippie

Pandasresearchedthestepstakenforgettingmilkfromthe

farmtothetable.Theylearnedthatproblemscanoccurwhile

pasteurizingmilk,sotheydesignedasolar-poweredmilk

pasteurizationsystemthatisbotheffectiveandinexpensive.

Throughtheteam’sdeterminationandhelpfromtheircoach

andhercontactsatRochesterInstituteofTechnology(RIT),

theirpasteurizationsystemwillbeimplementedinavillagein

Nicaragua.Cherylandhercontactsusedtheirexpertiseinwater

treatmentandknowledgefromworkingindevelopingcountriesto

helptheHippiePandasunderstandsolarpasteurization.Thegirls

rolledmats,madereflectors,andmadewaxindicatorsbecause

thermometersareexpensiveinNicaragua.AccordingtoAshley,

“ThepeopleinNicaraguawillhavesafermilkthantherawmilk

theyaredrinkingnow.Thesolarpasteurizerisnotveryexpensive,

soitwillnotcostthepeoplealotofmoneyforsafemilk.”

About the Team: The Hippie Pandas

Emily Sabo,13,8thGrade,ChurchvilleChiliMiddleSchoolCarolyn Grant,14,9thGrade,OurLadyofMercyHighSchoolAshley Stafford,11,6thGrade,ChurchvilleChiliMiddleSchoolJodie Reese,13,8thgrade,ChurchvilleChiliMiddleSchool

TheHippiePandas’hardworkandinnovative

ideacertainlypaidoff,asthegirlswillbe

showcasingtheirfindingsatWorldFestival!Atthe

event,thegirlswillmeetteamsfromaroundthe

worldandinvestigatethesolutionsthoseteams

devised.AsEmilysaid,“Theprogramisreally

funevenifyouaren’treallyinterestedinrobotics

orprogramming;thereareotherthingsthatyou

areabletodosuchasresearching,designing

presentations,andworkingontheprojects.”It

isthissortofteamworkthathaspropelledthe

HippiePandastowheretheyaretoday.Owner

andViceChairmanoftheLEGOGroup,KjeldKirk

Kristiansen,sumsuptheFIRSTexperiencebest:

"FLLencourageschildrentodesign,construct,and

programtheirownintelligentinventions.Thisallows

themnotonlytounderstandtechnologybutto

becomemastersofit.”

For more information on FIRST ® LEGO® Leaguevisit LEGOeducation.us/Competitions.