Bolingbrook Siblings Named 'Best Rookie Team' at Robotics Competition

Submitted by Valley View School District:

Three Valley View School District 365U siblings came within an eyelash of qualifying for the Illinois F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League robotics competition state finals Saturday but they did win an award for Best Rookie Team.

Jane Addams 8th grader Ben Mottlow, his Addams 6th grade brother, Zachary, and his sister, Kate, a 4th grader at Independence Elementary School formed a team called “Chuck Norris” (because they break down barriers).

For the competition, they prepared a presentation on an improved method of learning Spanish by combining the proper Spanish spelling of a word and integrating that Spanish spelling into a picture definition of the word while also including a phonetic pronunciation for English speakers. The kids verified their hypothesis that Spanetics improved the way Spanish words are learned and pronounced by conducting a validation study on some of their classmates.

In addition to the project presentation, Team Chuck Norris was also scored on its robot design. The robots, constructed out of Lego Mindstorm pieces, competed four times against other teams.

The trio went through interviews with judges on how they promoted F.I.R.S.T. Lego Leagues’ Core Values of teamwork, spirit, and gracious professionalism.

First Lego League Founder Dean Kamen came up with the idea for the Lego robotics competition to inspire young people to become science and technology leaders.