BALTIMORE — The Govans Elementary Robotics Team took first place in the FIRST LEGO League regional competition on January 26, 2019. The team of 10 students competed against 14 other Baltimore City teams.
“Today was an amazing culmination to a season of hard work and dedication by coaches Ms. Nemeth and Ms. Crosby, LET’S GO Boys and Girls mentor Amanda Porter, and the 4th and 5th grade students on the team,” said Debbie Dininno, Baltimore Region STEM Director for LET’S GO.
Last fall 10 students from the Govans Elementary after school program were selected to be on the FIRST LEGO League team based on their love of STEM and robotics. They practiced weekly to prepare for the regional competition. They also gave up their half-days to stay at school and work.
The students designed, built and programmed a robot; researched the challenges astronauts face in space; and ‘created’ an innovative solution called Medic 2.0., which is a pharmaceutical machine to compound and dispense medicine.
The students also interviewed an engineer; shared their research with local medical professionals; and learned how to work together as a team and improve their communication skills.
At the regional competition the team took first place in Robot Performance. This award recognizes a team that scores the most points during the Robot Game. Teams have a chance to compete in at least three 2.5-minute matches and their highest score counts. Their robot scored 94 points.
They also won the Champions Award, which recognizes a team that embodies the FIRST LEGO League experience by fully embracing the Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the Robot Game and Project. This is the highest award at the competition.
By winning the Champions Award, the team advances to the State Championships on February 23, 2019 at UMBC. The top 72+ teams from all the qualifiers around the state of Maryland are invited to compete at this championship.
The Govans Elementary after school program is an initiative of the 21st Century Community Learning Center at Govans Elementary, which is funded by a generous grant from the Maryland State Department of Education.
In addition to developing the Robotics Team, LET’S GO Boys and Girls provides STEM curriculum, teacher training and ongoing support for the after school program.