This is the 3rd year that Adam and Aaron have been on the FIRST Lego League (www.firstlegoleague.org) team sponsored by our church – the Crazy Creators. This year, for the 2nd time, the team did really well at the regional tournament and advanced to the state competition. Unfortunately, that’s as far as it goes this year. Aunt Debbie won’t get a call to ask if we can stay with her for the International tournament in Atlanta. 
The team has a lot to be proud of. At the regional tournament in Allen park, we finished 7th with the Robot Runs. Overall with all the scores for our highest Robot Run, Project presentation judging, Teamwork judging, Technical judging and Team Spirit, we finished 5th. We don’t know the standings from the state competition, yet. But we do know the team scored an “A” for teamwork, and “B” on all the other items. Chris and John also managed a perfect 400 point robot run! Too bad it was on the practice table. They weren’t quite able to repeat it in competition. Still, we know it was possible, which is a success in itself.
This year there were 14 missions for the robot to complete. (If you want to see what they were, check http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=29600) Many of the teams we saw at competition struggled to complete everything within the time limit. Thanks to some great strategy and combination of missions, the Crazy Creators consistently finished with time to spare. They were confident and knowledgeable in the technical and project presentations as well.
The project this year was to do an energy audit on a building in the community and propose recommendations to reduce energy usage or identify options for using alternative energy sources such as wind or solar. The Crazy Creators did a detailed energy audit on our church, and presented their recommendations to the vestry. We also found the Michigan Interfaith Power and Light organization. This is a coalition of Michigan churches who are working to reduce their energy usage. It offers members discounts on services and products (such as compact flourescent lightbulbs). Our church, Trinity, will likely join.
I’ll post pictures soon.
The team has a lot to be proud of. At the regional tournament in Allen park, we finished 7th with the Robot Runs. Overall with all the scores for our highest Robot Run, Project presentation judging, Teamwork judging, Technical judging and Team Spirit, we finished 5th. We don’t know the standings from the state competition, yet. But we do know the team scored an “A” for teamwork, and “B” on all the other items. Chris and John also managed a perfect 400 point robot run! Too bad it was on the practice table. They weren’t quite able to repeat it in competition. Still, we know it was possible, which is a success in itself.
This year there were 14 missions for the robot to complete. (If you want to see what they were, check http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=29600) Many of the teams we saw at competition struggled to complete everything within the time limit. Thanks to some great strategy and combination of missions, the Crazy Creators consistently finished with time to spare. They were confident and knowledgeable in the technical and project presentations as well.
The project this year was to do an energy audit on a building in the community and propose recommendations to reduce energy usage or identify options for using alternative energy sources such as wind or solar. The Crazy Creators did a detailed energy audit on our church, and presented their recommendations to the vestry. We also found the Michigan Interfaith Power and Light organization. This is a coalition of Michigan churches who are working to reduce their energy usage. It offers members discounts on services and products (such as compact flourescent lightbulbs). Our church, Trinity, will likely join.
I’ll post pictures soon.