Wyoming FLL Championship Awards

The 2008 Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Championship took place on December 6th, 2008. The award winning teams are listed below.

Casper Star Tribune Coverage 2

Casper Star Tribune Coverage 1

Champions Award:

1st Place: Mean Green Machines - Lusk (Lusk Elementary)

2nd Place: SAM's Rappers - Casper (St. Anthony's)

3rd Place: Laser Blazers - Casper (Oregon Trail)

Robot Design Award:

1st Place: The NXT Generation of Eagles - Gillette (Sage Valley JH)

2nd Place: RoboEagles - Casper (Centennial JH)

3rd Place: Robo Joes 2.0 - Laramie (Snow Range Acad.)

Teamwork Award:

1st Place: Geek Squad - Buffalo

2nd Place: Nerd Herd - Casper (CCA)

3rd Place: The Purple Herder Robotic Stampede of Lightning Fury - Glenrock

Research Quality Award:

1st Place: CO2s - Casper (Park)

2nd Place: Environmental Einsteins - Casper (CY JH)

3rd Place: Technical Difficulties - Jackson (Jackson MS)

Innovative Solution Award: 

1st Place: Terabyte Tigers - Casper (Paradise Valley)

2nd Place: Spiderbots - Casper (Poison Spider)

3rd Place: Fire Blazers - Pinedale

Creative Presentation Award:

1st Place: Beetlebots - Casper (Manor Heights)

2nd Place: Flying Monkeys - Casper (CCA)

3rd Place: Mission Possible - Gillette (Sunflower Elementary)

Robot Performance Award:

1st Place: The NXT Generation of Eagles - Gillette (Sage Valley JH)

2nd Place: Flying Polar Bears - Jackson (Journeys School)

3rd Place: Techno Spartans - Clearmont

Team Spirit Award:

1st Place: Rocky Wolves - Casper (Frontier MS)

2nd Place: LEGO Legends - Kemmerer (Kemmerer MS)

3rd Place: Biodroids - Casper (Pineview)

Outstanding Volunteer Award: Carrie Gomez

Young Mentor Award: Leland Hepworth

Adult Mentor Award: Kristi Hibbert

Final Schedule

Wyoming FLL Championship
Friday, December 5th and Saturday, December 6th, 2008
Casper Events Center


Friday, December 5th
6:00 PM Dan Stiehl; MIT Media Lab
Guest Speaker
7:15 PM Practice Round (1 hour 15 minutes)

Saturday, December 6th
7:00 AM Registration Opens
--setup continues

7:30 AM Meetings:
Judges
Coaches
Volunteers Job assignments

8:15 AM Judging Begins
Session 1 8:15 – 8:30
Session 2 8:30 – 8:45
Session 3 8:45 – 9:00
Session 4 9:00 – 9:15
Session 5 9:15 – 9:30

9:30 AM BREAK

9:45 AM Judging Continues
Session 6 9:45 – 10:00
Session 7 10:00 – 10:15
Session 8 10:15 – 10:30
Session 9 10:30 – 10:45
Session 10 10:45 – 11:00
10:30 AM Referee Meeting

11:00 PM Lunch Break

11:45 AM Opening Ceremony

U.S. Senator John Barrasso

U.S. Senator Mike Enzi

Dan Stiehl MIT Media Labs

12:30 PM Robot Rounds
Round 1 12:30 – 1:45
Round 2 1:45 – 3:00
Round 3 3:00 – 4:15
12:30 PM Judges Award Meeting

4:30 PM Closing Ceremonies
Award/Trophy presentations

Wyoming FLL and Wyoming PBS Partner to promote STEM!

Check out the Wyoming PBS TV promo for Wyoming FIRST LEGO League.

Wyoming PBS and FIRST are working together to keep science, technology and math fun and engaging. Watch Fetch! and Cyberchase after school. Tune in to NOVA and Nature weekly. And check out the games at PBSKids Go!

Wyoming FLL Special Guest Speaker

To Kickoff the 2008 Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Championship we will have a Special Guest Speaker, Dan Stiehl, from the MIT Media Lab. He will be speaking on Friday Evening, December 5th, at 6:00 p.m. prior to the practice robot rounds. I have attached a flyer you can use to promote the event. All Wyoming FLL teams and the general public are invited to attend this high interest presentation. The session should help students on all of our Wyoming FLL teams to experience additional real world application of robotics technology.

(click image to download PDF Flyer)

Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Presents -
Special Guest Speaker:
Dan Stiehl
MIT Media Lab

Designing Personal Robotic Companions:
Engineering with Character
Humans have always been fascinated with anthropomorphized machines and robotics. Today, the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab is creating new types of robotic companions for a wide variety of applications.† ur approach combines engineering, science, and art to develop machines which are designed to interact with people in very clear and engaging ways. In this talk, Dan will describe an overview of the research that has been conducted in the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab under his advisor Prof. Cynthia Breazeal with specific emphasis on his current research in developing the Huggable, a personal robotic teddy bear for education, healthcare, family communication, and entertainment.

Friday, December 5, 2008
6:00 PM
Casper Events Center
Doors open at 5:00

LEGO Hotels

We have been able to get reduced rate hotel accommodations for the Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Championship on December 5th & 6th 2008. Please contact one of the following four hotels directly to make reservations. Please mention LEGO Robotics to receive the reduced room rates.

Ramkota Hotel (307-266-6000)
Room Rate: $70.00
Reserve by December 1st, 2008

Super 8 Motel East by I-25 & Wyoming Blvd. (307-237-8100)
Room Rate: $75.00
Reserve by November 25th, 2008

Parkway Plaza (800-270-7829/307-235-1777)
Room Rate $65.00
Reserve by December 1st, 2008

Ramada Plaza Riverside (307-235-2531)
Room Rate $70.00
Reserve by November 21st, 2008

Volunteers Needed!

Wyoming FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is back for its Third year! Wyoming FLL robotics competition has grown to an official Championship Event with 60 teams from all over the state.

In order for this event to be successful, we need MANY volunteers. We need Adult volunteers to Judge and Referee. Judge Volunteers work in pairs to evaluate teams in one of three areas; Research Project, Robot Design, or Teamwork. Referees manage the the action during the Robot Game, and record the score for each round. In addition, we need volunteers to help with the competition in general; team runners, field reset, pit tables, etc. Individuals interested in being a volunteer can sign up HERE.

IMPORTANT DATES
Judge Training (must attend one) - Tuesday, November 11 OR Monday, November 17, 6:00-7:30 PM at Casper College Energy Institute (Room 100)

Referee Training (must attend one) - Monday, November 10 OR Tuesday, November 28, 6:00-7:30 PM at Casper College Energy Institute (Room 100)

GENERAL VOLUNTEERS:
We are in need of volunteers for various jobs the day of the event. You can volunteer for a few hours or the whole day. You will find it to be a very rewarding experience contributing to the youth of Wyoming.

REWARDS:
No matter what volunteer role you choose, you will be provided with a free t-shirt, access to the volunteer hospitality room, and our sincere thanks. Most importantly, you will get to enjoy watching the teamwork, camaraderie, craftsmanship, learning, and team spirit provided by the fine students of Wyoming.

Wyoming FLL Championship Event - Saturday, December 6 at the Casper Events Center, specific time will be determined by job.

Season Registration Closed

North American registration for the 2008 FLL Climate Connections is now closed. We have 60 teams registered in Wyoming!

Wyoming FLL at Wyoming School Improvement Conference

Topic: Wyoming FIRST LEGO League: Climate Connections
When: Tuesday, September 30, session 9, 2:15-3:15 pm
Where: Little America Hotel & Resort, Grand Ballroom A - Cheyenne, Wyoming

Handout

The Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Championship is an exciting robotics competition for students age 9-14. During the competition students demonstrate their mastery of the annual FIRST LEGO League Challenge. While preparing for the competition students learn and apply STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts while focusing on a real-world problem. In 2007, the Wyoming FLL Championship hosted 46 teams from around Wyoming. The third annual Wyoming FIRST LEGO League competition is scheduled for Saturday, December 5th and 6th, 2008 and is open for statewide participation of up to 64 teams.

This presentation will share how the power of LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics and the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Organization combine to provide students age 9-14 an amazing opportunity. FIRST LEGO League (FLL) combines the excitement of athletic competition and the challenges of building and problem solving into the FIRST LEGO League competition. Students design, build and program robots to solve each year’s challenge. In addition to the robot challenge, teams research the challenge topic and develop a presentation that shares their solution to a real-world problem.

Wyoming FLL KickOff 2008 Video

Kicked Off!

Wyoming FIRST LEGO League held the annual season kickoff on Saturday, September 6th. Over 50 participants from around the State of Wyoming came to hear the details about this year's Climate Connections season.

Click on the image to download the 'overview' presentation.

Update: Wyoming FLL KickOff on Sat. September 6th

Wyoming FLL host a State-Wide KickOff of the 2008 Climate Connections season on Saturday, September 6th. 

The KickOff will take place at Casper College, Energy Institute room 100 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (The KickOff is free and Breakfast items will be provided.)

The KickOff will cover this year's Research Project and the Robot Challenge Field. In addition, we will be sharing some general recommendations on ways to ensure you have a successful Climate Connections season. 

Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00 a.m.  - Greet, Meet, and Eat

9:00 - 9:30 a.m.  - Welcome, Information/Resources for Coaches

9:30 - 10:00 a.m. - Challenge Project

10:00 - 11:30 a.m. - Robot Game

Please email Jeff Brewster (jeff_brewster@ncsd.k12.wy.us) if you are planning to attend.

Climate Connections Team Flyer

Hi Wyoming FLL Coaches,

Here is a Flyer that you can use to advertise your FIRST LEGO League Team for the 2008 Climate Connections season.

Click on the image to download a PDF version of the Flyer. If it opens in your browser you can instead "Right-Click" (control-click on Mac) and use the "save link" option.

Climate Connection KickOff on September 5th.

The Global Release of details for this year's Climate Connections seasons will occur on Friday, September 5, 2008.

Details will be found HERE.

FLL 2008: Climate Connections

Climate Connections:
Building a Global Game Plan
Embark on an exploration of the earth's climate in the FIRST LEGO League's 2008 Climate Connections Challenge! Discover the links between science, people, resources and communities. Unearth how we learn about past climates and delve into questions surrounding our current and future climatic conditions. Join FIRST LEGO League teams in creating a global game plan as they make these Climate Connections!

Coaches Clinic Presentation

The Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Coaches Clinic took place on Monday June 9, 2008. We had participation from 12 Wyoming communities.

Click on the picture to download a PDF version of the Overview Presentation that was shared. In addition, here is a link to Kendall Jacobs' Web Site which has the Mindstorm NXT robot activities we did in the afternoon.

Communities in Attendance:

• Arapahoe
• Buffalo
• Casper
• Clearmont
• Douglas
• Gillette
• Glenrock
• Guernsey
• Newcastle
• Pinedale
• Sheridan
• Worland

2008 Coaches Clinic - Monday, June 9

Wyoming FLL will be hosting a FREE coaches clinic on June 9th, 2008 at Casper College. The training will be open for all those interested in Wyoming FIRST LEGO League. The training will primarily focus on sites around Wyoming that are starting up teams for participation in the 2008 Wyoming FLL Championship that will be held in Casper on December 5th & 6th. However, all coaches are welcome to come and help us build our Statewide FLL community. [Breakfast and Lunch will be provided]
Casper College
Energy Institute
Room 100

Morning Session (8 am - 11:30 am): FLL Overview
-overview of the FIRST LEGO League program
-what does the competition look like?
-what are the judged areas?
-what do I need to do as a coach/sponsor?
Afternoon Session (12 pm - 4pm): LEGO Mindstorms NXT building and Programming
The afternoon will focus on getting individuals familiar with how to build robots out of NXT sets and how to use the NXT programming software.

If you plan on attending, please fill out the following registration form:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=749523528837

See you in June!

Laser Blazers compete at World Festival

The Oregon Trail Laser Blazers from Casper (The Wyoming FLL Champions) just returned from the FIRST LEGO World Festival in Atlanta Georgia where they represented Wyoming. The FLL Festival included 81 teams from 24 countries. Great Job Laser Blazers!

Wyoming FLL Presentation @ Spring School Improvement Conference - March 3, 2008

We will be giving two presentations about Wyoming FIRST LEGO League during the Spring Wyoming School Improvement Conference. These sessions will take place in Casper, Wyoming at the Parkway Plaza Hotel.

HANDOUT

Monday, March 3
Session 2, 11:30-12:30 pm
Session 3, 1:30-2:30 pm
Both sessions will be in the Champagne Room.

This presentation will share how the power of LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics and the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Organization combine to provide students age 9-14 an amazing opportunity. FIRST LEGO League (FLL) combines the excitement of athletic competition and the challenges of building and problem solving into the FIRST LEGO League competition. Students design, build and program robots to solve each year’s challenge. In addition to the robot challenge, teams research the challenge topic and develop a presentation that shares their solution to a real-world problem.

The Wyoming FIRST LEGO League Championship provides an exciting venue for Wyoming students to display their learning. In 2007, the Wyoming FLL Championship hosted 46 teams from around Wyoming and the Champion team was invited to participate in the World Robotics Festival. The festival invites 86 FLL teams from around the world and is held annually in Atlanta.

Our presentation will share details about the Wyoming FLL Championship competition and detail how schools and/or districts can get involved.

The third annual Wyoming FIRST LEGO League competition is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, December 6, 2008 and is open for statewide participation.

2007 Wyoming FLL Championship Video