Send Robotics Team to World Championships!

These are the Robosapiens! They just won the Montana State Robotics Tournament, and they are ready to show the world that Montana kids are full of grit, determination, creativity, AND cutting-edge STEM skills! Help us send this amazing team of ten young people from Washington Middle School in Missoula to represent Montana at First Lego League’s World Robotics Competition in Houston!

Teams in the First Lego League Challenge Competition design, build, and program a Lego robot to score points by completing a variety of missions in a two-and-a-half-minute game. These students spent countless hours after school working on their programming and design skills, learning to code in the Python program language, and developing sensors to improve their robot’s performance.

But perhaps even more importantly, another major aspect of the competition is to work as a team to develop and present an “Innovation Project”, in which the students design a solution to a real-world problem aligned with the competition’s annual theme. This year’s theme is “Superpowered” and has to do with the production and use of energy.

The Robosapiens’ Innovation Project is an in-home hydroelectric system that generates electricity from the kinetic energy of water moving through a home’s plumbing system. The students created a working prototype and really “WOW-ed” the judges, who declared their presentation nearly “professional” level! Another adult even inquired if this ingenious device was yet available to purchase!

All of this hard work led to a 1st place finish at the state competition and earned them a birth in the world competition in Houston in April, where teams will be entered from all 50 states and many countries around the world. The Robosapiens are determined to continue their work to improve even more leading up to the World Festival!

In addition to feeding the Robosapiens’ appetite for STEM learning, the World Festival will also provide a cross-cultural experience, as these kids get to interact with other young people from across the globe. Can you imagine how this week of sharing and learning will impact all of these capable young people?!

We've looked into expenses, and it's going to cost alot to make this trip happen. Your financial investment in the team will help pay for the travel, housing, food, and supplies necessary to participate in this invaluable experience. If your business or organization would like to be a sponsor, please contact Coach Alec Arntzen at Washington Middle School. You can also send checks directly to the school. Thank you for your generous contributions!

These Montana kids are already super-powered, and they are just getting started! Watch out World!