Lego Competition Benefited Kell Robotics

Kell Robotics and Cobb EMC joined forces and hosted the first annual Lego competition at  on Friday. This created an opportunity for kids to get excited about education.

The competition was open to 5th and 6th graders. 4th graders asked to be included, so the competition was expanded.

Each grade level competed separately. Students were each given a number and were seated at tables. In front of each competitor was a small pizza box. To save time for the students, lego sets were prepared in advance. Plastic wrappers were taken off and the instruction booklet was taped shut except for the instructions required to build the lego bulldozer for the competition.

As students patiently waited for the signal to start, instructions were given. This was not simply a speed competition. Accuracy was key. Students were informed to build their lego set as accurately and as quickly as possible. Once they were finished they must stand up and hold their number in the air to let the judges record who finished in what order.

Once all students from that grade finished, the judges had to check for accuracy. The top three winners from each of the three grade levels went on to compete for the $400 Lego Death Star. The 4th - 6th place winners from each division competed for a Clone Tank.

While the speed/accuracy competition was going on, a separate Creativity Challenge was happening by grade level. Students had to use exactly 45 lego pieces of any shape or size and build the highest tower. If more or less than 45 pieces were used, the student was disqualified. The towers were unique and the race was close. Some towers fell but the ones that stood for at least three minutes were accepted.

Throughout the evening, Darth Vader, Princess Leah and a Storm Trooper were walking around to greet the students. The lego theme for the evening was Star Wars.

4th Grade Winners:

• 1st place: Christian Pumpelly
• 2nd place: William Aaron
• 3rd place: Will Herrington
• 4th place: Nick Nettleton
• 5th place: Carson Phillips
• 6th place: Gabriella Berrey

5th Grade Winners:

• 1st place: Jason Pierce
• 2nd place: James Austin
• 3rd place: Ted Niemi
• 4th place: D. J. Lightford
• 5th place: Alec Logelin
• 6th Daniel Mussell

6th Grade Winners:

• 1st place: Wilber Clonts
• 2nd place: Nicholas Weaver
• 3rd place: Zyn Liang
• 4th place: Robert Bowden III
• 5th place: Bryan Davis
• 6th place: Austin Phillips

Each student paid $40 in advance or $50 at the door to compete. The proceeds benefited the Kell Robotics team's trip to MIT where they compete among 14 national teams to build a 100 lb robot in 45 days. This year, Kell's team is building a robot to skim oil in Marine Estuaries. They wanted to design something that will help the community and the world. MIT awarded Kell a $10,000 grant for their project.