FORT KENT, Maine — The Golden Recyclers came out on top of the 14 teams competing, Thursday, May 26, 2016 at the second annual Aroostook Jr. Lego Robotics Expo held at the University of Maine at Fort Kent Sports Center; however, the event was about more than just awards.
The expo brought together students from Wallagrass and Fort Kent elementary schools, and new this year, teams from New Sweden Consolidated School.
Jamie Pelletier, a Gifted and Talented teacher and one of the event organizers, said she was very pleased with this year’s expo and expects it to grow bigger next year.
“We are talking to Frenchville, and Fort Fairfield has a team too,” Pelletier said prior to the awards presentations.
The Electric Viking Recyclers, from New Sweden, earned the Team Spirit award and the Computer Crushers, from Wallagrass Elementary School, won the Strongest Team Effort award.
Throughout the morning, students enthusiastically showed off their projects and visited other teams’ tables.
Trista Dionne, of Madawaska, said she liked building something with lots of moving parts. Her teammate Annabelle Hodgkin said she enjoyed putting all the electrical wires together.
The two were part of Madawaska’s robotics team, who were also at the expo demonstrating their advanced projects, but not competing.
Tom Bickford, president and director of Maine Robotics, spoke to all of the students prior to the official start of competition. “It’s important to know what you students can do yourselves,” he told them. “And, we are here to have fun!”
Maine Robotics began in 2004 as a way to address the needs of the educational-robotics community in Maine and promote the fields of engineering and computers.
Each of the teams’ projects incorporated elements of both design and engineering. The Lego creations displayed moving parts, including battery-powered sections and parts that the students programmed to do certain things. They also had poster boards explaining their projects and presented all of their research to judges.
Many of the young engineers’ projects had a theme of recycling or conservation.
The Computer Crushers built a machine that removes old computer parts.
“It’s recycling computers so we don’t poison the environment,” said Aadyn Connor, a member of the team.
The Superhero team was inspired to design a machine to sort through old clothes after a visit to The Good Shepherd, a thrift store in Fort Kent.
James Lamarre of the Styrofoam Smashers said he had a lot fun working with his teammates to build their project. “The coolest part was putting together the conveyor belt,” he said.
Teams also competed in an on-the-spot engineering challenge, where they had to work together as a team to complete a task – such as create a tall tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows that could support the weight of a battery.
Darcie Fongemie, one of the Chevron Wizards, said she would be back next year with something even “crazier.”
New Sweden’s Secret Swedish Legoers, all of whom say they play with Legos at home, said they would be back for next year’s expo as well.
This is the second year that UMFK hosted the Lego Expo. During the competition, the university’s 3D printer drew in curious observers as it quietly worked, printing a large Lego brick. Also on hand were the Bengals mascot and a mustached Lego-man.
Valley Motors also contributed funding, which enabled all of the participants to receive team T-shirts and awards, some of which were trophies made out of … of course … Legos.
