EAST LANSING, Mich. — Teams of elementary and middle schools students will be designing, building and programming robots made from Legos during an upcoming FIRST Lego League tournament on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Michigan State University.
With the help of Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System kits – consisting of Lego bricks, motors, sensors, gears and software – the students, ages 9 through 14, learn engineering and computer programming principles while creating fully autonomous robots that are capable of performing specified, theme-related tasks.
Through a grant from Shell Oil Co., the MSU College of Engineering will be sponsoring 10 teams from Lansing area schools for this event, which is exploring the 2006 theme “Nano Quest.” During the competition, the teams will learn about the applications of nanotechnology and how to work with nanoscale objects like molecules.
“Legos are a good tool to get students interested in science and engineering at a young age, but these materials are also versatile enough to be used by all levels of students. Everyone has experience with Legos,” said Drew Kim, assistant to the dean for recruitment and K-12 outreach for the College of Engineering.
“Using these materials, there are a number of ways to teach elementary and middle school students about engineering concepts and to raise interest in going into engineering studies,” Kim said.
More than 125 students will compete in about 15 teams. The competition begins at 8 a.m. and will take place at the IM Circle, the intramural sports building at the corner of West Circle Drive and Kalamazoo Street. The public is invited to watch. Qualifying teams advance to the state championship tournament Dec. 16.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a multinational, nonprofit organization that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering and technology as cool for kids as sports are today. The FIRST Lego League is the result of a partnership between FIRST and the Lego group.
“K-12 outreach is important because it gets young people into the pipeline,” Kim said. “If we don’t put efforts into preparing students early on in science, math and engineering, the United States will lose its standing as a powerhouse in engineering and the sciences.”
Here is a sampling of the “missions” or tasks that the robots will be required to perform:
- Sense of smell
Mission: Transfer molecules from the pizza toward the nose. The robot must get pizza molecules completely off the paper plate for five points each and transferred to the yellow or black areas of the person’s head or neck for an additional 10 points each.
Background: Do you realize that when you smell something yummy or disgusting, it means that molecules from that substance have reached your nose? You can’t even see them, but they’re there. Imagine trying to work with these nanoscale objects to invent things and solve problems…that’s nanotechnology.
- Smart medicine
Mission: Target medicine to reach only a specific problem spot. The robot must release the buckyball molecule containing medicine into the person’s arm. The buckyball is placed anywhere in the red/yellow channel of the arm bone and is worth 50 points (even if it hasn’t reached the problem spot).
Background: When we are given medicine, it usually circulates throughout the body and often causes harmful side effects in unintended areas. But through nanotechnology, some medicines can be strategically placed inside special molecules (like the C60 buckyball molecules) that allow delivery only to the exact area where the medicine is needed.
- Nanotube strength
Mission: Lift the truck by a thin cable of carbon nanotubes. The robot must move the truck onto the lift frame and activate the lift. The truck placed completely on the frame is worth 20 points. The truck and frame supported completely and only by the cable is worth an additional 20 points.
Background: The carbon atom is of special interest in nanotechnology. One of the reasons for this is that carbon atoms can be arranged to form carbon nanotubes, which can form the basis of some unbelievably strong materials. Imagine a cable as thin as a toothpick, weighing one-sixth as much as a steel cable of the same size, yet it could support the weight of a car.
To learn more about FIRST and FIRST Lego League, visit http://www.usfirst.org.
For more about this year’s competition see http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=21380.
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 14 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.