Dublin Lego Robotics Challenge: Climate Connection

Posted by Wolfgang Lant

Ride a bicycle. Construct a levee. Bury some carbon dioxide. Rescue a polar bear. Is that what you do in your time off?

Eighty-eight elementary students from Dublin did that and more in April and May as they programmed their LEGO robots to address climate challenges all around the world!

The 4th and 5th graders (from Glacier Ridge, Wyandot, Chapman and Eli Pinney) spent six weeks building their robots, developing their strategy, and learning to program before pitting their bots against each other in a battle where seconds count but gracious professionalism trumps all!

The 2nd annual Dublin LEGO Robotics Challenge Tournament, held on May 16 at Coffman High School, challenged everyone to apply math and science skills from school to the real-world problems we face. The local tournament is an unofficial offshoot of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), hosted by the high school Robotics team, the middle school LEGO Robotics teams, and the Dublin Robotics Boosters. It is designed to give elementary students a taste of engineering and a desire to use their minds to make the world a better place.