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Gaithersburg Lego Team Makes it to Regionals
The BioBricks Robotics team, which practices at the Olde Towne Youth Center, uses strategy and planning to conquer bio-medical Lego challenges.
For Mazie Cummings-Rocke, Legos are building blocks.
She is the coach of the BioBricks Robotics team, made up of eight local middle school students and one high school mentor, which competes in the First Lego League of Maryland.
Legos? Competition? Robots?
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It may seem like a confusing combination, but the BioBricks—officially team 11197—has it figured out, and more.
The FIRST Robotics is an international program designed to promote math and science for students in grades K through 12.
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Rocke's daughter, Maisie, is a 6th grader at Gaithersburg Middle School, and a member of the BioBricks team. Together with her teammates, she programs small, brick-like robots to perform a simple progression of tasks.
The project challenges the kids to think critically and make decisions, Rocke said.
Twice a week they meet at the Gaithersburg Olde Towne Youth Center to tweak and prime their robots for competition.
They attach arms, wheels, pushers and grabbers custom-made from Lego parts, then the robots are loosed onto a standardized board with obstacles—also made from Legos.
The obstacles represent the theme of this year's competition, biomedical engineering.
On Jan. 29, the BioBricks competed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus and earned the Judge's Prize, giving them a coveted slot at the regional competition on Feb. 26.
The BioBricks, along with three other League teams, is sponsored by the Rockville Science Center, and the team will be guests at Rockville Science Day on April 10 at Montgomery College Rockville.
The other members of the BioBricks are Gunny Rocke and Victor Hawkins, 6th graders at Gaithersburg Middle School, Nylz Saleem, a 7th grader at GMS, Eric deWebber, John Barnard, a 7th grader at Forest Oak Middle School, Dalisis Rodriguez, an 8th grader at FOMS, and Brandon Meka, a 7th grader at Montgomery Village MS.
Justin Merrel, a student at Gaithersburg High School, is the team's mentor. He helps the team navigate the computer software used to program the robots.
For more information on the First Lego League, check out their website here.
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