Lego Lynx, the robotics team from Pacific Cascade Middle School, had the opportunity to compete in Bellevue at the First Lego League competition late last year.
First Lego League guides students through STEM learning, exploration and innovation. The competition allowed students to gain an understanding of STEM basics, and then apply that knowledge.
As a brand-new team, Lego Lynx knew very little about robotics before entering the competition. But with hard work as well as support from leadership, the team was very successful.
In the team’s first competition, they won the Core Values Award and advanced to state. This award was given to the team that best demonstrated outstanding teamwork, perseverance and collaboration throughout the event.
A mechanical failure with the team’s robot occurred during the competition. However, the team worked together to make necessary repairs and went on to score in the top five.
Lego Lynx team members included Suraj Narra, Natalie Levin, Helen Dos Reis, Meher Singhal, Saanvi Nagaraj, Hrehaan Motwani and Aadya Syal.
Sylvio Dos Reis and Shaurya Jeloka from Issaquah High School served as mentors. Darrel Nichols, a robotics teacher at Pacific Cascade Middle School, led the team and challenged them to think outside the box and develop creative solutions to the problems.
Lego Lynx was one of 32 teams in Washington to advance to the state championship. From there, the team went on to earn sixth place overall. This alone was an incredible accomplishment for a brand-new team. Other participants had been working and competing together for several years.
In addition to building and coding the robot, Lego Lynx had to identify, design and propose a solution to a real-world problem in the community. The team decided to tackle fuel waste and inefficiency in refrigeration trucks.
Team members researched gasoline and solar energy, analyzed refrigeration truck design blueprints, and met with people from professional shipping companies. Ultimately, they designed a hybrid refrigeration truck model with a complex system of solar panels and eco-friendly batteries to power its refrigeration unit.
Judges were impressed by the team’s solution, and they were nominated for the Global Innovation Award.
Saanvi Nagaraj (eighth grade), Hrehaan Motwani (eighth grade), Suraj Narra (seventh grade), Natalie Levin (sixth grade), Helen Dos Reis (sixth grade), Meher Singhal (sixth grade) and Aadya Syal (sixth grade) attend Pacific Cascade Middle School in Issaquah Highlands.
