Eric Mack On-Line

This weekend, our Robotics team competed in the FIRST Robotics competition in Manhattan Beach, California. Preparation for this year's competition was very different from all previous years. Due to a medical situation in our family, our team was unable to meet as a team after our first meeting. Rather than skipping the competition, the girls decided to split up the projects, with two of the girls working on the robot design and programming locally while Amy and Wendy worked on the research and presentation project remotely.



This weekend, the LEGO Mountaineers won the top award for their research and presentation on how undersea robots can be used to help restore the kelp forests. Amy and Wendy even built a mock-up of their proposed solution to demonstrate how it would work.

Collaborating via email, Skype, and snail mail, the girls coordinated their projects and activities and overcame significant challenges to create a compelling robot and presentation. I'm very proud of these kids and their accomplishments. This year, in particular, all four of the girls really put their skills to work with very little adult involvement.

You can read about last year's robotics competition their team blog.