FIRST Lego League is an integral part of the enrichment program at NCA offering Junior High students an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles. As they construct and program their robot using LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, students have a great time working with their coaches, making friends with other teams, competing with their robots, and presenting their work to adult judges.

FIRST (For Inspiration of Science and Technology) Lego League or FLL is the creation of Dean Kaman and MIT professor Woody Flowers. According to Dean, the goal of the FIRST organization is "...to create a world where science and technology are celebrated... where young people dream of becoming science and technology heros..."

So what do the students think about Lego League? As NCA Lego League alumni CT Spaulding puts it: "Lego League was an amazing time for me. A chance to test my ideas, to stretch myself and to work closely with other kids. To do things I have never done before. The competition was unbelievable and it wasn't always easy. At times I felt really challenged and a bit overwhelmed but that experience might be the most valuable part of the years I spent at Lego League."

BEGINNINGS. Lego League is an annual game that is revealed to teams in September, and in New Hampshire, culminates with 50 teams competing all day Saturday in early December. For those 8-12 weeks the team(s) will meet 3-4 times a week to brainstorm, design, build, refine and finish their robot and accompanying research project based on each years theme.

There are 4 parts to this competition, Robot Performance, Technical, Project and Teamwork.

> READ MORE ABOUT THE 2006 COMPETITION

The Performance part of the competition challenges the team to accomplish various missions and accumulate points with their robot built from Legos. These missions are run on a table and require the use of computer coding, light and touch sensors, motors, gears and many, many legos.

For the Technical part of the competition the team discusses the engineering of their robot and how it navigates each of the challenges on the table. Specifics about how the computer programming was designed, durability of the robot, and how the team members work with the robot are all presented to a panel of engineering professionals.

The third part of the competition is Teamwork. Each team is observed throughout the day and interviewed to determine how well they work together. Sometimes they are given a problem to solve, on the spot such as building a towers out of spaghetti and marshmallows.

Finally for the Project each team presents their research about a current topic, nanotechnology, pollution, travel to Mars etc. Each team makes their presentation using whatever props they deem necessary answering questions about their research and conclusions. The teams are required to find an improvement to existing technology and then design a practical solution featuring it.

GAME DAY. One of the most exciting and intense parts of the competition is at the tables. This is when all the long hours spent programming and building the robot over the past 2 months come under scrutiny as you run your program across the table from another team under the timer. The goal is to score a maximum of 400 points within the 2-and-a-half minute time limit. (See video.) The top teams then compete in playoff rounds with the top team emerging as the winner. With 800 screaming fans chanting Flying Geeks - Geeks Can Fly! it can get a bit nerve-racking.

In addition to the competition each team presents their research project to adult judges during the day. They also are required to walk another set of judges through their process for building the robot, discussing the merits of their programming, robot and table strategy.

To prepare for this very full day the weeks before the competition are a whirlwind of activity. They contact experts in the field of study, gleaning from their expertise.The team travels to engineering companies to present their robot, honing their presentation skills. Then weeks before the State competition they need to win at a regional tournament to garner an invitation to the States.

"The students have an opportunity to try their hand at programming the robot using a PC and then testing their solution at the table. There is a lot of "real life" test and retesting that goes on, and a lot of discussion of what works, and what doesn't. A real synergy of hardware and software design starts to take shape with new ideas being tried every day. At some point a student may have the "Aha" experience of suggesting a impossibly clever solution to a knotty problem. These are the kind of situations that make the many hours all worthwhile."

> READ WHAT THE COACHES HAVE TO SAY

Lego League offers many opportunities for Junior High students. It gives them a terrific chance to try something different, working in a team setting, learning about new technology and science. They can delve into a real-life problem and design a solution.

They have the chance to prove to themselves, their peers, their coaches and the judges they present to, that their ideas have merit. And who knows, maybe their ideas could lead to solutions for the future.

"What is the best part about coaching our kids? - It is the recognition and the name branding we get. People all over NH know about the "Flying Geeks". Other coaches have repeatedly told me how nice, friendly, well mannered and generous our teams have been. The kids have repeatedly been told that when they head out for a competition, they are representing God first, NCA second, their parents third, and their coaches fourth. I think they take that very seriously."

Greg Tiedemann has been a coach since 2004. He is the Director of Business Development and Systems Engineering for the Telecom Computing Group at Mercury Computer Systems and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. When he is not thinking about the durability of lego motors he loves to spend time with his family and doing projects around the house with his 2 kids.

"It's a thrill for me to see how the kids have grown their self confidence and developed their leadership and problem solving skills over the last few years. The biggest reward for me is reading or hearing comments from the kids that they are having fun and are learning something new from lego league and the coaches."

2006 was Roger Stevens rookie year as a coach and 2nd year as a parent of a Lego League kid. Roger runs his own electrical and carpentry business (RJ Stevens Custom Home Services) working as a licensed electrician for 20 plus years. He also holds an associates degree in computer science. A football and NASCAR fan he also loves to spend time with his kids.

"Even with all the unique/different personalities on the team - the one thing that remained constant and in common was their faith in God. It really was a grounding force. It was enjoyable to watch the kids learn and grow as a team and as individuals."

Jim Knittel started with FLL in 2005. He is an Electrical Engineer employed with AMD as a graphics chip architect. He holds 22 patents as a software programmer so it was natural that he became the software mentor for the team. When not thinking about the perfect if/then statement Jim likes wood working, construction, boating and playing video games with his 2 boys.

"Nothing can surpass the joy and tears of joy seen on the kids faces when they accomplished what they set out to do. To be there, with them, and experience it with them, is and will forever be one of the greatest moments in my life. To know what they went through, to get to that point, makes it all the sweeter. Seeing them grow in their maturity, ability and confidence in themselves and to know that I played even a small part in that is an awesome honor and experience."