Congratulations to the Leonard Elementary Leopards, the Oxford C.A.T.S., and the Clear Lake 1 and 2 LEGO Clubs!
Out of 29 other teams, the Leopards and the C.A.T.S. placed in the top eight spots in the First LEGO League (FLL) Robotic regional competition Nov. 18 at Carman Ainsworth Middle School in Flint, earning a chance to compete at the state level Dec. 16 in Flint.
Although they didn’t make it to the state competition, the Clear Lake Team One placed 19th and Team Two placed 18th.
The Oxford C. A. T. S. club, coached by Nancy and Dante Zuccaro, placed first overall and the Leonard Leopards placed in the top eight.
The C. A. T. S. club (which stands for Children Applying Technology & Science) is made up of eight students, seven from Oxford Middle School and one from Lakeville Elementary. Aside from placing first, the team was awarded Best Robot Design and Performance.
The Leonard Leopards club is made up of nine students in fourth and fifth grade, and is lead by team coach Don Gilmore.
Clear Lake 1 and 2 has eleven members and is coached by teacher Cheryl Matas and student coaches Robert Hewett and Ashley Meunchen.
Clubs are scored on their project presentation, technical judging, teamwork and robot performance.
This year’s FLL theme was Nano Quest and has the students focus on the small world of nanotechnology, which is a scientific frontier that will impact many facets of society, such as medicine, computers, and the environment.
The Leonard Leopards main project was to invent a prototype for a safer sports helmet, while the C.A.T.S. came up with a panel to absorb high amounts of heat used in smaller electronics. Clear Lake 1 and 2 did their projects on how to reduce carbon monoxide poisoning and possibly reduce peanut allergies.
At the state competition, the teams will compete against teams from around Michigan with only one team going on to the National Tournament in April.