Alvie and Austin, 4th graders at Carroll, are members of a First Lego League (FLL) team that qualified to advance to the State Tournament on December 20th.  Their team "Smokin' Robots" was one of 12 teams out of 40 selected to advance from a regional tournament, Mindstorm Mayhem, on December 13th at Shrewsbury Middle School. Teams had to build and program a Lego Mindstorm Robot to perform a series of missions.  Some of the 18 possible missions are easier than others (e.g., moving things around) but some are really challenging (e.g., turning a wheel to open a house window).  Teams were judged on robot performance, robot design, and teamwork. Teams also had to prepare a research project related to climate, and their 10-member team prepared a project advocating wind power.

"The FLL competition is a super way to get kids excited about science and engineering," says Carroll parent and team coach, Curtis Heisey. "The program is more about learning and doing your best than winning.  Working together as a team is a huge part of the emphasis, and the number of real-life lessons are innumerable."

The team is sponsored by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Robotics Outreach Program.