Broadwater Robotics Teams Compete at LEGO
Author: Matt Nelson
Matt Nelson
Two Broadwater Middle School STOKE Robotics Teams competed against 17 other teams at the Four Georgians Elementary School in Helena on Saturday, January 24th. STOKE is the acronym for Science, Technology, and Outdoor Knowledge Education. The Robotics teams come under the Technology category. The younger students of the two teams are the AVENGINEERS, and the older students are the BRAINACS. Students built robots using LEGOs, and this competition was the FIRST LEGO League event. According to coach Roger Flynn, “The Townsend students have been working since August 17th. Students and seven coaches have spent more than 2,000 combined hours designing, building and coding LEGO robots in preparation for FIRST LEGO League events.” Each of the robots are controlled by students using I-Pads with Wi-Fi connections, and the computer coding they come up with is very sophisticated.
Besides Helena, there were other competitions held in Kalispell, Missoula, and Billings, with about 100 teams in total. On February 7th, the State competition will be held at Montana State University in Bozeman, and seven teams that competed in Helena. The BRAINIACS team is one of the seven.
Again, quoting from Roger Flynn, “This year’s FIRST LEGO League challenge focused on archaeology, asking teams to develop solutions to real-world problems faced by archaeologists. The AVENGINEERS presented a concept for a portable battery-charging system designed for remote fieldwork. Their system combines solar, wind, water and vibration-based charging to provide power in locations without access to electricity.”
Although their robot performed exceptionally throughout the competition, earning high marks for accuracy and programming, and the fact they won the they won the top robot score, with the first-place Robot Performance Award, they just missed being one of the seven teams going to State by barely not meeting another qualifier. Alex Buccanon, Thor Byrne, Caleb Crusch, Kaylee Flynn, Sevigne Flynn, Bennett Kirksey, Calvin McCauley and Keaton Schritz are the members of this team.
Once more, Roger Flynn commented: “The BRAINACS presented an app concept designed to help archaeologists better document stone circles, improving how field data is recorded and organized. Andrew Beatty, Jayden Flynn, Everett Kirksey, Titus Kirksey, Karter Schmaus, Sky Sellay, Kathryn Six, Erilyn Strait and Courtney Webber are on this team. They earned the highly coveted first-place Champions Award, recognizing the top overall team at the tournament. Judges recognized the team for strong robot design, consistent performance and for modeling the FIRST Core Values, which emphasize teamwork, inclusion and gracious professionalism.”
Seven very fine coaches lead the Broadwater Robotics Teams. They are Jessica Crusch, Dr. Lisa Brown, Spencer Sellay, Bobbie McCauley, Roger Flynn, Dr. Adam Six and Jim Strait.
Special thanks go to the Broadwater sponsors: STOKE, Townsend Rotary, The Lodge of Townsend, Ace Hardware of Townsend, Graymont, Bob’s Supermarket, Broadwater Equipment Services, Opportunity Bank, Green Wing, Squatch Country Construction Services, Systems Northwest, Boeing, the Birch Family, Sim and Robin Hofman, and the Gianforte Family Foundation for their continued support of youth robotics and STEM education.
Good luck at the State competition in Bozeman.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Roger Flynn
Image 1 Caption: Both Broadwater Robotics middle school teams show off their trophies. Top row: coach Jim Strait, coach Dr. Lisa Brown, coach Bobbie McCauley, coach Roger Flynn, coach Spencer Sellay. Second row: coach Adam Six, Jayden Flynn, Titus Kirksey, Kathryn Six, Courtney Webber, Karter Schmaus. Third row: Keaton Schritz, Everett Kirksey, Andrew Beatty, Sevinge Flynn, Sky Sellay, Bennett Kirksey. Front row: Alex Buccanon, Kaylee Flynn, Calvin McCauley, Caleb Crusch, Thor Byrne. Not pictured: Erilyn Strait, coach Jessica Crusch
Photo Credit: Roger Flynn
Image 2 Caption: Andrew Beatty and Kathryn Six prepare to launch their robot as coaches and team members watch.
Photo Credit: Roger Flynn
Image 3 Caption: The Avengineers
Photo Credit: Roger Flynn
