By Ramil Lorenzo Gonzalez
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Loud cheering and mechanical whirring filled the air in the MHS cafeteria on Nov. 12 as the 2011 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Lego League (FLL) District Tournament got into full swing. The event drew together the robotics teams of several elementary and middle schools from North Central Oahu and gave students the chance to find enjoyment in science and technology through self-motivated research and friendly competition.
“FIRST is an organization that basically is dedicated to reaching out to the community, and improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills and STEM awareness,” said FLL District Tournament Coordinator Tyson Kikugawa, “It’s a robotics tournament for elementary and middle school students ages 9 to 14, and it consists of a few interviews as well as their (Lego) robot (competition).”
The tournament consisted of various parts, all relating to this year’s theme: “Food Factor.” The teams had to present research projects, exhibit teamwork in activities, and guide their robots made of Lego through certain missions, with each facet relating back to the science and technology involved in the theme of keeping food safe for people.
As FLL had wanted a larger venue, the event was moved this year from Mililani Middle School to MHS, marking Kikugawa’s first time coordinating the tournament. “For me it’s a new experience in just organizing something this big,” he expressed, “I never did anything like that before.”
Similarly, Mililani Waena Elementary participated in the competition for the first time this year, joining Mililani Ike, Mililani Mauka, Mililani Middle School and other schools in the district, including Punahou School, the Hawaii Technology Academy and Highlands Intermediate School. Joan Kinney, coach of the Mililani Waena Techno Crew, was impressed by the drive her students exhibited throughout the year. “The kids were so motivated to come in the afternoons for practice to work on (their robot) … sometimes as long as five (or) six hours,” she said, “It was a nice change for us to see.”
In addition to the long hours, the participants also got some help in the form of MHS FIRST robotics students, such as Sophomore Adrianna Saymo, who came in after school to aid them with their robots. “I miss them. I grew close to them,” she confessed, “I just really enjoyed it in general (and) I hope to help out again next year.” Saymo also participated in the actual competition as an emcee and a commentator during the matches.
In the end, Highlands Intermediate School’s Team 1 was crowned district champion, though Kinney says her students are still positive despite the loss. “I think they were tired … and maybe a little disappointed,” she said, “But I think they were very happy and surprised that they could do all of this in this amount of time.”
Likewise, Kikugawa is happy with the results despite the slightly rocky first year, and aims to have an improved competition by next year. He hopes for the students to have a newfound appreciation of science and technology through the experience, and wants them to simply have fun with it. “It’s an interesting topic … that science and technology can be used to solve all kinds of problems, whether they know it or not. And … they (should) just enjoy themselves because … these are just elementary and middle school students, so for most of them it’s their first experience with anything … this high-tech.”
Kinney and the Mililani Waena Techno Crew, Kikugawa, Saymo and the rest of the MHS FIRST robotics team all hope to participate in next year’s FLL competition and improve upon this year’s efforts.
