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.