Fourteen students at Donley Elementary School in East Lansing are already preparing for the school’s first entry into the international FIRST Lego League robot competition.
Children ages 9 to 12 in leagues around the globe will learn their task on Sept. 3, although they have been given a clue: it will deal with transportation. They will have until November to prepare their entry.
“We have to start training the engineers of the future. The environment needs scientists in our country,” says Deanna Sakamoto, mother of Westin who is a league member. She and her husband, Jim Sakamoto, started the Donley Lego League.
Through the summer, the team members are learning how to build Lego tri-bots and program them with computer software.
Lego Leagues are the precursor to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competitions for older students, founded by Dean Kamen, famed as well for his invention of the Segway.
The Donley Lego League is sponsored by Shell Oil and co-sponsored by Michigan State University (MSU), which covers all costs for the youngsters. MSU will host the statewide competition.
The students are coached by Jim Sakamoto. He brings his expertise as professor of materials science in the engineering department at MSU, but one might say he definitely knows robots. He came to the university from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where he worked on the Mars Rover.
“This is not all about the competition. We want to be sure the kids learn and have fun doing it,” says Deanna.
Source: Deanna Sakamoto, Donley FIRST Lego League
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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