Two Evans Middle School First LEGO teams qualified to compete in the Iowa Championship in January at Iowa State University.
The Evans teams were part of three Ottumwa teams who competed against 28 Iowa teams in the First LEGO League Regional Qualifier at Indian Hills Community College. The competition was held Saturday, December 6.
Team 792, Promoting High Life Education from Evans, was one of five state qualifiers to advance. The team’s focus involves field trip experiences to make better connections with social studies. Team members include: Maxwell Thomanson, Donavan Newland, Braydon Songer, Emma Weilbrenner, and Jilienne Butler, sixth grade; Evan Hanson, seventh grade; and Jesus Mancilla, Dylan Cochell, Cody Cochell, and Saelim Butler, eighth grade.
Team 794, LEGO Remix from Evans, advanced as the top representative in Project Award. The team rocked the competition by playing live smart instruments on iPads as a way to put more music in the curriculum and get more instruments in the hands of students by using a school’s available technology. The team also demonstrated how to play smart iPad instruments to other teams and sixth graders at Evans. Team members include Tyler Brown, Hunter Gullion, Steven Langland, Taegin Butler, Liberty Ware, Ryan Eddy, Isaac Bradford, Noah Bjerke, and Dawson Greene, seventh grade; and Griffin Dains, eighth grade.
Both middle school teams are coached by TAG teacher, Heidi Bradford. The Iowa Championship is hosted by Iowa State Engineering Kids (ISEK), a program from the Iowa State University College of Engineering Outreach and Education that promotes science, technology, and engineering to K-12 students. The theme this year is “World Class,” focusing on re-designing how knowledge and skills are taught in the 21st century based on how students want to learn.
A team of fourth and fifth graders, Team 5 x 5, also competed. The rookie team, coached by K-5 TAG teacher, Breanna Hinmon, won honorable mention. Team members included: Elaine Prose, Lucas Barnes, Calvin Neely, and Jake Mellin, Eisenhower; Ava Hanson, Horace Mann; Emma Strayer, North Lindell, Penelope Teel, and Cataleena Rodriguez, Liberty; and Cale Leonard, Seton Catholic.
Every September, First LEGO League releases a challenge based on a real-world scientific topic. Each challenge has three parts: the Robot Game, the Project, and the Core Values. Teams of up to 10 children participate in the challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by the First LEGO League’s eight Core Values. By designing challenges around real world topics, participants are exposed to potential career paths, in addition to supporting learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. Team members also learn valuable life and employment skills which will benefit them no matter which career path they choose.
