FLL Gear Heads

This is Tristan's First Lego League team, The Gear Heads.  Wait... is Tristan the shortest?  I think so.  The kid, two kids to his right, is even a year younger.   

This was our first time doing FLL.  We started practicing with our team in September and the competition was in January.  The kids had to solve several problems with a robot that they designed and programmed.  They also had to do a project where they came up with a "new and innovative" solution to a food safety problem.  Food safety issues make millions of people ill each year, so they had to focus on solving some problem.  Our team had an idea to make a machine that used ultrasonic waves to kill germs in your food.  We had to build a (fake) prototype and research the feasibility of their idea.  Turns out, researchers have done tests with ultrasound and it DOES kill germs.  Yeah, don't worry.  We didn't win. 

This was during the competition.  The kids were so nervous they were shaking.  The coaches couldn't help and only 2 kids could touch the table.  They had to change attachments several times and we just didn't practice that part enough.  They only have 2 minutes to complete all the challenges so they were rushing.  Next time, if there is a next time, we will be like a well run pit crew.

At the end they gave out awards.  We didn't win anything.  It was really quite arbitrary.  The points for the robot game were straight forward, but they got points for "robot design" and "enthusiasm", etc.  What constitutes good robot design and how are these people qualified to judge this?  And don't even get me started on judging the enthusiasm.
One of the teams that made it to state won "most enthusiastic".  Uh, yeah, their project was on how chocolate milk is a health food.  They were a really nice team, and their project was nice, but HOW IS THAT FOOD SAFETY RELATED?

Ok, I'm ok now.  I'm not sure we'll do it again.  It was really fun to do it with the neighborhood boys.  Yes, the same boys we play Jr Jazz with.  Our friends, the Terry's, acted as coaches and they were lifesavers.  It quite took over their lives for several months.

Tristan said on the way home, "Well, that was a lot of work for nothing."  I see what he means, but sometimes that's a learning experience too.  Sometimes you work really, really hard and don't win.

We're maybe thinking of doing the Google X robot challenge if they do it this year, instead of FLL.

Jr. Jazz

What??? Who plays Jr. Jazz???

In action.  Fighting for the ball.

 I admit that Jr. Jazz basketball is fun to watch.  Tristan says it's fun to play too.  He's on a neighborhood team with all the same kids he plays baseball with, goes to school with and goes to scouts with.  :)  Their coach is so positive.  I love it.
Coleman plays too, but his games are more and less serious at the same time.  More serious in how hard they're playing and less serious in the fact they're silly.  They all call each other and wear goofy things to the game... like short girls' running shorts and headbands.  Speaking of silly... there was a boy on Tristan's team that wore a fake mustache to the last game.  Classic. 

The Leonardo Museum with Andrew

Tristan wearing fake prosthesis to see what they feel like.

The boys in front of a green screen.

This really cool sculpture that had like hundreds of sensors so that it could sense people or movement.  It responded to the input by moving and changing.

Another cool sculpture that changed colors with the wind speed it sensed.

This was an art piece made out of a map.

Close up.

Computerized animation.  The camera filmed the kids moving and then created a computer animated guy doing whatever they did.

More green screen.  I can't be bothered to arrange all the pictures together.

Fall 2011 (I know.. I'm behind)

View from our front door.  The patches of gold on the hill are Aspen trees. 

 

We went to Cornbelly's with Grandma Plummer.  Cornbelly's is a corn maze and pumpkin patch.

Uncle Andrew came too!

They had a lot of wood structures to play on.

Tristan is pedaling hard... trying to ram Jack.

Contact!

You could shoot these air guns at the old cars.  Don't ask me what that has to do with pumpkin patch.

Utah County Champions!

I love Jack!

He had on: long underwear on top and on bottom, long socks, sweatshirt, pads, jersey, gloves, football pants and a hand warmer muff that had at least two Hotties hand warmers in it. 

In the warming tent with his best buddy Will.

We played the championship game at Lehi High School.  They even had an announcer.  It was very official.

Jack and Will again on the sideline waiting to go in.

See Jack on the right.  Look at that game face. 

Getting his award from his coach.  His coach said, "Pound for pound, Jack is the best lineman in the conference."