Creativity and camaraderie took off as 450 primary-age children landed at the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose base in Helston. They thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the inspiring Tyneside Lego League Regional Final. The topic of the day’s discussions was archaeology. It engaged students to design and program Lego Mindstorm robots to accomplish guided missions on an obstacle course themed game table.
Among those taking part was Tamsin Melville, who stood for Helston and George Thorpe from the South West area. The final competition really fired up the atmosphere, setting the stage for some seriously smart young minds. It opened up the world of STEM to them through exciting hands-on experiences.
Felicity Blight, the school secretary at Porthleven School, discussed why the educational aspect of the event was so meaningful. She pointed out that it prepares them for STEM careers. They do a ton of coding and work really closely together. That experience helped students do more than just test their knowledge. It taught them how to work best with their fellow classmates.
Elowyn, one of the eager contestants, couldn’t wait to take part in her very first Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. She stated, “It’s a great experience for kids our age because you’re learning and still having fun.” This idea really registered with a huge number of students as they set to work solving real engineering challenges – and loving every minute of it.
George Slater, an event organizer also recognized the physical toil put on the students throughout the competition. He said as far as the robots go, “They are not fool-proof. They do mess up. The kids just work through their mistakes, and they learn to keep going.” His remarks emphasize the tenacity and creative thinking that are characteristic of an education through robotics.
In addition to the aspiring tech innovators, Slater was equally blown away by these incredible young coders. He continued, “That’s really the fun part—to see these future naval engineers having so much fun with it and getting excited to do some cool stuff and showing off some really great coding chops. His observation is a nice testament to the event’s success in inspiring the next generation of engineers.
The Lego League Regional Final inspired technical prowess in the students. It encouraged cooperation and competition between students from various school districts. That’s a tiny snapshot of what these young innovators had to overcome in the competition. They proved once again their incredible strength and creativity to adapt, pivot and innovate through difficult times.