IN THE CLASSROOM:

Adams Elementary School fifth- and sixth-graders sat, legs crossed, in utter silence, wonder and excitement as a Lego-built robot rolled along Friday. It was a three-motor body, made up of white, black, gray and yellow Lego pieces propelled on wheels.

What was more exciting to the kids as they watched the robot perform a variety of tasks was the fact that six of their classmates had put this pre-programmed device together.

Jake Brown, Cynthia Herrera, Rodolfo Mendoza, Christy Bales, Angela Robles, Mai Le and Charlie Griffen were chosen to be in the robotics team last year to participate in the inaugural Lego League competition in December. Over a semester, they worked together with teachers Juanita Priesand and Kelly Lopez to program their very own robot.

They were provided with all the required materials and a set of tasks the robot was expected to perform.

The team was provided with a program to learn basic programming skills needed to create the robot.

“We went through the tutorials together, and it took a month for the kids to pick it up,” coach Kelly Lopez said. “After that the kids just taught themselves through trial and error.”

Every year, the competition has a different theme, and this year’s theme was about climates.

Each team was to program their robot in their own way while focusing on the given theme and solving the tasks.

The Adams Elementary team chose drought as their climate-related problem. Even after receiving a wild-card entry into the competition and being one of the youngest among 52 other teams, including middle school students, the team won for the most creative presentation.

“Our robot was very simple compared to those of other schools,” Lopez said.

“But it worked and it could do all the tasks. Many people came to us as asked how we could make it work so easily.”

Although it was a big deal for the team and their coaches, the rest of the school did not know much about their project or the competition. So on Friday, the teachers organized a presentation for fifth- and sixth-graders, other faculty members, and some of the board of directors, in which the team got together and operated the robot to perform all its tasks. Following the presentation, several students immediately took a very active interest in the team and the competition.

“After the presentation on Friday dozens of kids came to us asking if there would be a different team next year and how they could get on it,” Lopez said.

The teachers were very excited about having an opportunity like this in the school. “It gives kids a different way to learn and express,” Lopez said.

“While working on this project, the kids found out a lot of their strengths and learned to be good problem solvers.”

Mai, one of the robot-drivers at the competition said that she “learned about teamwork while working together.”

For Christy, the experience of learning about weather and climate was memorable.

“We were basically telling kids about the importance of preserving water,” she said.

KIDS TALK BACK

If you were able to build your own customized robot, what would you have it do?

“I would have it take care of the country.”

Angela Robles

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“I would have it do the housekeeping and the housecleaning.”

Rudolfo Mendoza

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“I would have it do my chores and homework.”

Charlie Griffen

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“I would program it to meet all my daily needs.”

Christy Bales

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“I would make it help with chores and shopping.”

Mai Le