Guided by adult Coaches, FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams research a real-world problem such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc., and are challenged to develop a solution. They also must design, build, and program a robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS technology, then compete on a table-top playing field.

 

Middle school students have the opportunity to join the Ellis FLL Robotics team, aptly named STEAM Powered Girls. Under the careful guidance of Upper School Physics Teacher, Sam Rauhala, and Ellis parent, Melanie Good, students prepare to compete against up to 100 teams across Western Pennsylvania in competition.

 

The competition consists of three different parts that each team must complete. These include the Robot Game, Research Project, and a Core Values test.

 

For the Robot Game, each team is provided with a map featuring 12-15 different challenges, referred to as missions, on the field. The team must build a small robot and program their robot to perfectly complete as many missions on the field as possible.

 

With this year’s Animal Allies theme––which describes the interactions that take place between humans and animals––missions include using the robot to move animals around the map, delivering food to certain animals, and opening gates to release animals back into the wild. Teams are scored based on correct completion of the mission and receive penalties if their robot knocks over a barrier or does not place items within the designated boundaries. However, how they accomplish this task is open to the team’s interpretation. As Mr. Rauhlala explains, “creativity is something that FLL rewards greatly, and it is something that our girls really bring to the table. One of the guidelines when approaching the missions for the Robot Game is that the rules only mean exactly what they say. In other words, all solutions are viable unless ruled out by something in the challenge document. This leads to some creative solutions, many times bypassing the suggested path altogether!”

 

The Research Project allows the team to identify a real problem and design a solution. As part of the Animal Allies theme, students look at problems that occur when humans and animals interact. After deciding on a specific project, students research the interaction, design a solution, and present their project at the competition. All of this must be completed by the team. Mr. Rauhala states, “one aspect of this competition that I really value is that the girls are put in a position where it is their ideas that will solve the problems, both on the field and in the world. We're there to help out as coaches, but we're careful to make sure that our help is strictly supporting their ideas, not supplying them.”

 

Finally, the Core Values test requires each team to perform a simple task, such as creating a structure out of LEGOS, in front of the judges. The judges evaluate how the team works together to complete the task.

 

The attitudes and aspirations of a girl’s peers have a powerful influence on her outlook. Students at all-girl schools are steeped in an environment in which learning and success are valued. Girls at single-sex schools have higher aspirations and greater motivation than their female peers at coeducational schools.