Students take 2nd with Lego Robotics

While most children view Legos as just toys, four students from Trout Creek Elementary and Junior High used them to build two robots and a solid foundation for their future education.

The four students from Trout Creek's gifted and talented class were amongst the 38 teams competing in the FIRST — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — Lego League robotics competition at Montana State University in Bozeman Jan. 12. Although Trout Creek, with 56 students enrolled, was one of the smallest schools that had traveled from across Montana, Wyoming and Utah to compete, it didn't stop them from taking home second place in the robotics performance competition.

"It was just amazing," Daisy Carlsmith, the supervising teacher of Trout Creek and the instructor for the gifted and talented class, said about the competition. "I've never seen anything like it," she added. Carlsmith said while it is still unclear if any of her students will pursue careers in engineering because of the competition, they have a good chance of going on to college. She said about 60 to 70 percent of children who compete in science competitions go on to get a college degree. "I know it does inspire them to go on to get a higher education," she said.

The theme of the competition was called Power Puzzle and was centered around energy management and conservation. In the performance competition, the students had to use the robot they had built with Legos to perform task like; placing a solar cell on a house, planting trees, placing windmills, and moving alternative energy sources.

There were three rounds in the performance competition and teams were ranked on their average from all three rounds. With scores of 265, 225, and 240 the Trout Creek team, known as the Trout Creek Robomaniacs, was leading the competition, but in the final minutes of the contest a team from Helena scored in the 300s and passed Trout Creek. Carlsmith said that while they might not have won the competition, they were the most consistent team in the event. "We were the most consistent team. No one else had three scores in the 200s," she said.

The team captain for the Robomaniacs was Mikalla Gardner, a sixth-grader. The team had two seventh-graders, Neal Jopling and Jacob Dean.

Holly Carlsmith, a second-grader, was too young to compete at the tournament, but helped them build the two robots and was able to accept the second place award, a yellow trophy built with Legos, with the rest of the team.

The Robomaniacs started building the robots in October. Carlsmith said that they were very limited on time and mainly were only able to work on the robot once a week.

"We had to use our time wisely," she said. Carlsmith said the students loved working on the robot and like any other school subject they gave 110 percent. "I'm lucky to know these kids, they're really go-getters," she said.

The Trout Creek Team got a lot of help on their robots by local Trout Creek resident Ernie Scherzer. Carlsmith said Scherzer had taught science for 34 years and his help was invaluable. "We couldn't have done it without him," she said. Carlsmith said that Scherzer had been to robot competitions before and knew what to expect.

The second place award in the robotics performance wasn't the only award that was given to Trout Creek at the competition. Carlsmith was given the mentor award, which was given to the coach whose wisdom and guidance was most clearly evident in the teams presentation.

The competition was held in the Shroyer Gymnasium and lasted over 10 hours. Each team competed in three categories: teamwork, a technical presentation and the performance category. Sheree Watson, from the MSU College of Engineering, said that the University has been holding the FIRST robotics competition since 2005. She said that the contest had grown every year, starting with 20 teams in the inaugural year and growing to the 38 teams with nearly 300 participants in this year's competition.

Watson said not only do the children learn a lot from the competition, but they also have a blast doing it. She said that they try to make the contest more of a celebration of a team's accomplishments rather than just a competition. Carlsmith said she couldn't believe how friendly the other contestants were. "The teams there were so nice to us, so welcoming," she said. "They were genuinely happy to see such a small school win," she added.

Carlsmith said Trout Creek is planning on going back to the competition next year and our hoping their second-place finish makes them eligible for the FIRST Lego League's international competition in Atlanta in April.

According to the First Lego League's Web site, the league was formed in 1998 and tries to engage younger children in playful and meaningful learning while helping them discover the fun in science and technology. The league has reached more than 90,000 kids in 45 countries.