Help NOAM Nerds On A Mission get to FLL Worlds!

FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge team N.O.A.M. Nerds On A Mission, from the Holmen area, earned a spot at the 2024 FIRST® Championship in Houston, TX, this April. They will join with 160 teams from around the world for the ultimate celebration of STEM and innovation! They are working to raise $10,000 to cover event and travel expenses. Donations of any size are appreciated and can be made directly here or follow them on Facebook for other donating options and updates: https://www.facebook.com/nerdsonamission/

The team is made up of 7 students who have been working for the last couple of years to grow the FIRST LEGO League program in our area. They have helped to recruit and support 4 other FLL Challenge teams and 10 FLL Explore teams this season.

In FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge, children are immersed in real-world science and technology challenges. In addition to building autonomous LEGO® robots that perform a series of missions, teams complete an Innovation Project in which they design their solution to a current scientific question or problem. In the 2023-2024 MASTERPIECESM season, which began in August 2023, FLL teams imagined and innovated new ways to create and communicate art and hobbies across the globe. N.O.A.M.'s Innovation Project is the K-zoo Kazoo, the world's 1st bioplastic, compostable kazoo!

In November and December 2023, FLL teams competed at regional tournaments around Wisconsin, where judges provided valuable feedback on their robot, code, and invention. At the Robot Game table, they raced against the clock for a personal best score and the chance to advance to the next level, the sectional tournament. At sectional tournaments, the top-ranked teams earned invitations to the Wisconsin Championship. N.O.A.M competed at the Madison Regional on December 3rd where they brought home the 1st place Champion’s Award and the 1st place Robot Performance Award with a high score of 440 points. They advanced and competed at the Mukwonago Sectional on December 18th where they again soared to the top of the Robot game with a high score of 480 points to win the 1st place Robot Performance Award, and they nailed their presentations in the judging room to once again bring home the 1st place Champion’s Award and secure their spot at the Wisconsin State Championship! At the Championship the team continued to push themselves and it paid off with the 2nd Place Champion’s Award, punching their ticket for a spot at the 2024 FIRST® Championship in Houston, TX, another 1st Place Robot Performance Award with the top score in the state 500 pts, 1st Place Robot Alliance Challenge along with their partner team E.A. Radioactive Llamas from Oak Creek, WI, and honoring Coach Peggy with a heart felt nomination which won her the Coach/Mentor Award!

The two top-ranked teams from the Wisconsin Championship earned spots at the 2024 FIRST® Championship in Houston, TX on April 17-20, 2024.